KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here has dismissed an application by three Barisan Nasional members to initiate a judicial review to challenge Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s decision to exempt the top two positions in Umno from being contested.
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The additional motion for both positions not to be contested was passed at the 2022 Umno General Assembly.
Judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh dismissed the trio’s application on the grounds that the court did not have the jurisdiction to hear applications involving political parties as stipulated under Section 18C of the Societies Act 1966.
The proceedings on Wednesday (Aug 30) were attended by lawyer Thalia Rohaina Abdul Latiff, representing the three individuals, while Senior Federal Counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly represented Saifuddin and the Registrar of Societies (ROS).
Kampung Bukit C2 Lembah Pantai Umno members Satarriah Abdul Karim and Zaidi Abdul Majid, as well as Lembah Pantai MIC branch member P. Vellasamy had filed the bid through Messrs Rohaina & Co at the High Court here on May 15.
Besides Saifuddin, they also named the government, the Registrar of Societies and Umno as respondents.
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In the application, all the applicants said that on Jan 13, an additional Umno motion was proposed at the 2022 Umno General Assembly which took place from Jan 11 to 14, 2023 for the party’s presidency and deputy presidency to be uncontested at the party polls.
They said on March 2, the ROS director-general issued a letter to the Umno secretary-general, saying that the no-contest resolution was irregular and contrary to Article 9.3 of the party constitution, therefore the resolution was deemed invalid.
According to them, the ROS directed Umno to take corrective action to comply with Article 9.3 of the party constitution.
The trio were seeking a certiorari order to revoke Saifuddin’s decision on March 7, which exempts Umno from complying with Section 13(1)(c)(iv) of the Societies Act 1966, as stipulated under Section 70 of the same Act. – Bernama