KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — The Registrar of Societies (RoS) confirmed today that it has granted PKR’s Rafizi Ramli special permission to contest the party polls.
Despite that, it insisted that no preferential treatment had been given, stating that it has approved six such applications as of July 31 this year.
“Any exemption is based on the application submitted by any individual processed using the standard operating procedure based on the Societies Act 1966,” its director-general Masyati Abang Ibrahim said in a statement.
She said Rafizi had applied for an exemption to hold a position in a registered society via a letter dated July 9, and the RoS responded in a letter dated July 20 approving the request.
“The RoS stresses that no preferential treatment was accorded to any individual applying for the exemption to hold office after being disqualified from holding office in any registered society in Malaysia.
“Instead, each exemption is based on the application made by any individual and processed according to a standard operating procedure in accordance with the Societies Act,” Masyati said.
Rafizi is challenging Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali for the deputy president’s post.
Earlier in the day, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had said the party’s election committee would determine if Rafizi could contest the elections.
The deputy prime minister was asked to comment on a report by TheSun yesterday, which stated that PKR regulations do not allow a convicted person to contest party elections.
The report, quoting a source, had said PKR faced the possibility of being deregistered if it allowed Rafizi to contest.
The report said Rafizi had two convictions — an 18-month sentence that he received from the Sessions Court for unauthorised possession of the 1MDB audit report and exposing it to the media, and a 30-month sentence this year for exposing bank accounts related to National Feedlot Corporation and its chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Salleh Ismail.
The report quoted the source as saying Rafizi claimed to have been given special permission by the RoS to contest the elections.
Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman had said he was waiting for feedback from the RoS on Rafizi’s position before making any comment.
Some 800,000 PKR members will vote in the elections from September 14 to October 13.
PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim won the presidency uncontested when nominations closed on August 5.
