Whether ROS has properly lifted the deregistration / dissolution of Party Branches

Deregistration / Dissolution

1) S 14(1) of the Societies Act 1966 which reads:

“(1) Every registered society shall, within sixty days after the holding of its annual general meeting or if no annual general meeting is held, within sixty days after the end of each calendar year, forward to the Registrar and submit the required statutory returns / financial statements.”

2) S 14(5) further provides as follows:

"(5) Where the particulars required to be furnished under subsection (2) are not furnished within the time stated in the order, or any extension thereof allowed by the Registrar, the Registrar may make a provisional order for the dissolution of the society."

Re-registration

3) S 14 (6) states that–

(6) If before the expiration of thirty days from the date of such provisional order the particulars required to be furnished under subsection (2) are so furnished, the Registrar may cancel the order.

Order / Decision of Registrar

4) Registrar may make a provisional order for the dissolution of the society as per s 14(5).

5) That the decision- maker must correctly understand the law that regulates his decision-making power and must give effect to it’ and that “…the authority concerned has been guilty of an error of law in its action as for example, purporting to exercise a power which in law it does not possess.

Analysis / Findings

6) By virtue of s 14(5), Registrar has to invoke s 14(5) in the event that any of the Party Branches fail to furnish to the Registrar the required statutory returns / financial statements in compliance to the Registrar’s direction (if any).

7) In the present case however, POLITICAL PARTY through its letter dated 14.12.1900 took the position that 25 POLITICAL PARTY Branches were directed to be re-registered whereas 23 POLITICAL PARTY Branches shall continue to remain deregistered / dissolved and subject to cancellation.

8) Nevertheless, the Registrar had in Jan 2021 re-registered / re-activated all Party Branches.

9) Therefore, it appears that the Registrar in having re-registered / re-activated all Party Branches had acted ultra vires sections 14(5) and 14(6) and also, had literally abused its powers.

10) This is because, the Registrar powers and / or actions to cancel its provisional dissolution order which was initially imposed against all Party can only be properly invoked in accordance with s 14(6) if the required statutory returns / financial statements are furnished to the Registrar.

11) As can be seen from the police report made on 16.3.1900, it shows otherwise.

12) In short, the Registrar has failed to exercise its powers and / or actions in accordance with the policy, object and intention of the Societies Act 1966 [Act 335].

13) Registrar in arriving at its decision has exercised its powers and/or actions which were ultra vires Act 335 and had acted beyond the ambit of law, powers, duties and jurisdiction and as such, the impugned decision by the Registrar is a nullity and can be invalidated.

Ways Forward / Remedy

14) Chief of POLITICAL PARTY - / POLITICAL PARTY Headquarter shall appeal against the decision of the Registrar to the Minister; and the Minister whose decision shall be final may confirm, reject or vary the decision of the Registrar – this has to be within thirty days from the date of the decision of the Registrar and the appeal should be addressed to the Minister directly.

15) Chief of POLITICAL PARTY - / POLITICAL PARTY Headquarter shall make sure that those POLITICAL PARTY - Branches which have been directed to remain deregistered / dissolved have not submitted or furnished to the Registrar the required statutory returns / financial statements for consideration since 16.3.1900 – preferably a police report has to be made to record the same.

16) The persons responsible for not furnishing the required statutory returns / financial statements can be charged and convicted under s 15 and complaints can be made / filed at the ROS.

17) By virtue of s 13(1)(d)-

(d) upon the society becoming unlawful under subsection 14(7) for failure to furnish written information.

Cancel the registration of those POLITICAL PARTY - Branches.

18) Application for Judicial Review at the High Court

· The basis on which judicial review can provide a remedy had been expressed by Lord Diplock in Council of Civil Service Unions and Others v Minister for Civil Service [1985] AC 374. This had been adopted by Justice K.C Vohrah in Booi Kim Lee v. Menteri Sumber Manusia & Anor [1999] 3 MLJ 515 at pages 521-522 under the following heads:

Ø Illegality - where there is a dispute as to whether the decision maker has understood correctly the law that regulates his decision making power and given effect to it.

Ø Irrationality - where there is a decision which is so outrageous in its defiance of logic or of accepted moral standards that no sensible person who had applied his mind to the question to be decided could have arrived at it.

Ø Procedural impropriety - where there is a failure by an administrative tribunal to observe procedural rules that are expressly laid down even where such failure does not involve any denial of natural justice.

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