KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 — Perikatan Nasional (PN) says it still does not know the details of eight complaints lodged by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia that led to the suspension of the coalition’s activities, and has formally asked the Registrar of Societies (RoS) to disclose them and explain the basis for its action.
PN deputy chairman Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the coalition’s lawyers sent a letter to the RoS on Monday seeking a meeting with its director-general as well as details of the complaints, Berita Harian reported today.
“We want to know what the eight complaints are about. Until now, we do not know the details of the allegations made by Bersatu,” he was quoted as saying.
“We believe the RoS should act fairly and investigate the complaints first before imposing any restrictions on PN’s activities.”
Tuan Ibrahim said PN was in a difficult position because it did not know the basis for the restrictions.
“If the RoS wants to suspend or restrict our activities, we want an explanation. We are in a difficult position because we do not know the basis for the action.
“We are asking to know what the eight allegations are. We need an explanation so that we can understand the issue and respond accordingly,” he said.
He added that PN believed Bersatu should be given an opportunity to respond to the matters raised.
“We just want to make sure Bersatu responds to the allegations. We need to know what the complaints are before we can respond.
“We suddenly received a letter restricting our activities, but we were not informed of the details of the complaints,” he said.
Tuan Ibrahim also said PN had not expelled Bersatu from the coalition.
“We did not remove Bersatu from PN. As far as we know, Bersatu was not invited to attend the meeting, but we do not know about the other issues.
“That is why we are asking the RoS to explain the factors behind the restrictions on PN’s activities,” he said.
He said PN would wait for the RoS to respond to the letter submitted through its lawyers.
“PN’s position is that the matter should be investigated and the coalition should be given an explanation about the complaints and the reasons for the action taken,” he said.
The RoS issued PN with a show-cause notice on September 22, giving the coalition an opportunity to explain why it should not be deregistered, and separately ordered it to suspend all activities from September 23. The regulator has said the show-cause notice does not amount to a final deregistration order.
Bersatu has said its complaint included allegations that it was excluded from a PN supreme council meeting on July 16, as well as questions over its membership status in the coalition. Bersatu secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali has said the party raised alleged breaches of PN’s constitution with the RoS.
