Malaysia de-registers main opposition bloc weeks before Malacca poll
Malaysia's Registrar of Societies has cancelled the registration of the main opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional, stripping its component parties of their common election banner ahead of the November 14 Malacca state vote.
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s Registrar of Societies (RoS) has cancelled the registration of the main opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN) in a Tuesday statement, a blow to the bloc ahead of the Malacca state election on November 14, Reuters reported.
The RoS said it warned PN of de-registration last month and the response “failed to refute the grounds for the cancellation of registration”.
The move followed a complaint from Bersatu, led by ex-prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, over its exclusion from a July PN supreme council meeting in breach of the coalition constitution. PAS, the conservative Islamist party with more seats than any other single party in the 222-member parliament, is vying with Bersatu for coalition leadership. The component parties can no longer contest elections under a common banner.
PN secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan, also a PAS leader, said the coalition would challenge the decision in court, condemning it as “an attempt to… weaken political opponents ahead of the Malacca election”. He accused the government of bad faith — mala fide — and confirmed receiving the order by email, Malaysiakini reported. The Kuala Lumpur High Court granted PN leave for judicial review on October 13, with a hearing on the stay application fixed for Thursday, October 22. He said PN’s October 14 written request for no further action pending the hearing went unanswered.
The Malacca poll is the latest test for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim after two other regional defeats this year; an early general election could follow amid tensions within his multi-party ruling coalition.
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