KOTA KINABALU – The United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko) is calling on the Election Commission to take over the registration of political parties.
Its president, Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau, said a fair and independent commission is needed to oversee the process of registration and deregistration of political parties.
“The Registrar of Societies (RoS) is not independent from political control, causing conflicts of interest in the regulation of parties.
“Why should a politician, who is also the home minister, be allowed to control the RoS and decide if his or her potential rivals can register a new party or if an existing party can be deregistered? This is absurd,” Tangau said in a statement yesterday.
Tangau said the rejection of Pejuang’s and Muda’s applications for registration as political parties is proof of the glaring conflict of interest in the system.
He said in the 15th general election, Upko will include a call for the transfer of power over party registrations to an independent EC in its manifesto.
“However, the EC must also be accountable to Parliament and EC’s membership candidates must first be vetted thoroughly by a select parliamentary committee in charge of elections,” he said.
Tangau said that for the time being, Upko wants RoS director-general Masyati Abang Ibrahim to uphold the freedom of association provided for under Article 10(1)(c) of the federal constitution and approve Muda and Pejuang’s applications.
He also said the opposition should try to table a private member’s bill to amend the Societies Act 1966 to curb the arbitrary power of the RoS.
“This can be initiated by the MPs in Pejuang and Muda, or by the parliamentary opposition leader’s office.
“Even though the private member’s bill will not be passed until Parliament is reformed, we need to stimulate the people’s imagination. As the MP of Tuaran, I offer my support in the formulation and sponsoring of this private member’s bill.
“Opposition parties must now rise up to the occasion and stand in solidarity with Pejuang and Muda, not with empty words, but concrete actions.” – The Vibes, January 9, 2021
