KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 — The Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) accused Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin of making factual errors yesterday about its rejected registration application.
It said it updated its constitution to follow the Registrar of Societies’ (RoS) rules and regulations, contradicting Hamzah’s remarks at a press conference yesterday.
In a statement today, Muda said the “minimum and maximum age” issue brought up by Hamzah was a mistake as the minimum age for Muda members is 18 years old.
“On the maximum issues for party members raised, we would like to emphasise that there is no set maximum age limit in our constitution.
“If the YB minister (Hamzah) is not given the correct briefing or overlooked to read the registration form, Muda is an acronym for ‘Malaysian United Democratic Alliance’.
“Muda is a party for all regardless of race or age. There is no political party in Malaysia that sets the maximum age for party members,” Muda said.
Muda, which on Jan 24 announced it was suing to be registered as an official political party, also added that Hamzah’s “reasons” on the rejection of its application could be used against the RoS in court.
“The press conference and the reasons given by the YB minister actually strengthened our argument in court,” said Muda.
Yesterday, in a special press conference Hamzah said Muda and Parti Pejuang Tanah Air’s application has been rejected by ROS because they were not in line with Schedule 1 of the Societies Act.
Hamzah, who is also Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s secretary-general also cited an example in Muda’s proposed constitution that aimed to attract participation from the 15- to 40-year-old age group, adding that its membership was defined as being open to anyone 18 and above with no age limit stated.
He also said that the Muda pro-tem committee has not met RoS for consultation and no appeal letter has been received.
Muda’s pro-tem committee, led by former Bersatu Youth chief and Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, alleged that the real reason Muda was not allowed to be registered was linked to his refusal to abide by an unnamed minister’s request that the former "commit" himself to Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
