The fates of two new political parties in Malaysia are up in the air now that the applications to register MUDA and Pejuang have been rejected, crippling high hopes for Syed Saddiq and Mahathir Mohamad to stay relevant in politics.
Leaders of the respective parties announced today that their applications have been rejected by the Registrar of Societies, or RoS, although no valid reason was given to them. This causes uncertainties for MUDA, which has been actively campaigning as a party for millennials in recent months, and Pejuang, which has been seen as a way for the two-time prime minister to rebrand his political image after being ousted from Bersatu.
Both former ministers are currently MPs for Muar and Langkawi. Syed also used to be the minister for youth and sports.
“In an email yesterday, there was no reason given by the RoS for rejecting our application,” a statement by MUDA said. “We are disappointed at the outcome. From our side, we’ve fulfilled all the required conditions to register as a political party. There cannot be a valid reason for the RoS to reject our application.”
MUDA is also considering further action against the RoS.
“This is part of the efforts of the National Alliance government to stop us and our supporters from participating in the next general election,” the statement added. “Moving forward, we will consider other avenues available, including legal action.”
Pejuang also denounced the RoS on Twitter.
“Do not simply reject our applications for no valid reason. It doesn’t look clever,” it wrote today.
Both parties have 30 days to appeal to the Home Ministry regarding their applications.
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