KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 7 — PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has demanded today that the Registrar of Societies (RoS) justify its reasons for denying the registration requests of Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) and Malaysia United Democratic Alliance (Muda).

Calling the rejections unacceptable, Anwar said the rights of association are enshrined within the Federal Constitution and should not be used by the government as a political tool to be abused.

"The office of the RoS is not a political tool for the government to use and manipulate to suit their agenda.

"Transparency and accountability must be enforced and enshrined so that all members in that department realise their responsibility, and that they will be called to account for their actions,” he said in a statement here.

The RoS is a statutory body under the purview of the Home Ministry, which is led by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin as its minister.

Earlier today, Muda said the RoS had sent a letter via email yesterday informing it of the decision.

In a copy of the email sighted by Malay Mail, RoS did not state its reason for rejecting the application.

Muda alleged that the rejection was part of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government’s agenda to prevent Muda from participating in the next general election.

Similarly, Pejuang also confirmed that its registration application was rejected by RoS after today was fixed for the judicial review hearing before the High Court to compel the RoS to make a decision regarding the party’s registration status.