Urimai files lawsuit over
govt refusal to register it
The political party headed by a former Penang deputy chief minister wants the decision to be declared invalid.
The party is claiming that the decision to reject its registration violated the constitutional right to freedom of association.
The lawsuit by its pro-tem secretary general, Satees Muniandy, names the home minister and the Registrar of Societies (RoS) as defendants.
The party is seeking a court declaration that the rejection and delay in hearing an appeal by the minister were tantamount to a denial of rights as enshrined in Article 10(1)(c) of the Federal Constitution.
In the filing, Satees requested a certiorari order to make invalid the registrar’s decision and a mandamus order to compel the registrar to register Urimai as a political party within 14 days.
A certiorari is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency.
This basically means Urimai wants the decision by the home minister to be declared invalid and, at the same time, it wants the court to order the government to register it.
Alternatively, the court is requested to order the home minister to decide on Urimai’s appeal against the rejection within the same time frame.
The petition also argues that the delay by RoS in hearing the appeal breaches provisions of the Societies Act 1966 and the Interpretation Act 1948 and 1967.
Lawyer S Gunamalar filed the application at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Urimai’s application for registration was rejected on July 4, eight months after it was submitted.
The decision was announced just two days before the Sungai Bakap by-election, prompting allegations from Urimai’s interim chief and former DAP strongman P Ramasamy, that it was politically motivated.
Ramasamy claimed the rejection was an act of retaliation by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government, citing Urimai’s lack of support for the Pakatan Harapan coalition.
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