KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21 ― The High Court here has allowed former minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman’s Malaysian United Democratic Alliance’s (Muda) bid for a judicial review against the government’s refusal to register them as a political party.
High Court Judge Noorin Badaruddin delivered her decision granting leave for Muda during a virtual hearing held at noon today.
Muda’s lawyer Lim Wei Jiet also affirmed the matter when contacted by Malay Mail.
“The Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) had no objections to the leave hearing, so it was a relatively straightforward hearing. The court granted leave,” he said briefly after the virtual hearing.
The High Court also fixed October 5 for case management.
In its judicial review application, Muda sought a court order to revoke Hamzah’s rejection of its registration last month.
The party claimed that Hamzah did not comply with provisions under the Societies Act when he rejected its registration.
Muda is also seeking a court declaration that its application to register as a political party met all the prerequisites under the Societies Act.
Muda had on September 17, 2020 applied to the RoS to be registered as a political party, and the RoS had on January 6, 2021 rejected Muda’s application.
Muda then appealed to the home minister against RoS’s January rejection on February 4, 2021.
On August 12, 2021, minutes before the court was scheduled to hear Muda’s lawsuit via judicial review application seeking for the home minister to finally decide on its February 2021 appeal to be officially registered as a political party, the government made a decision regarding Muda’s appeal to be registered.
Following the abrupt postponement of its court hearing, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin in a letter dated August 11 dismissed Muda's appeal for the party to be registered but no reasons were given.
Muda’s efforts to be officially registered with the RoS as a political party is important, as such status is required for the party to be able to contest in elections under its own name and party logo.
