KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 13): Perikatan Nasional (PN) will continue to be grounded following a court decision on Tuesday, though the coalition has been allowed to challenge the suspension.

High Court judge Datuk Azizan Arshad said he could not grant an interim stay against the suspension at this stage after considering a Court of Appeal decision in the “Kaisar Maxim” case submitted by the Registrar of Societies.

“As far as we are concerned, this court is bound by that decision,” he said, siding with the Attorney General’s Chambers that an interim stay cannot be granted “at this stage”.

PN is seeking to quash notices issued in September by the government agency under Sections 13(2) and 13(2A) of the Societies Act 1966.

Section 13(2) requires PN to explain its actions within 30 days or be deregistered. The Section 13(2A) notice informs PN that it must suspend its activities until it has responded to the matter. 

Azizan set October 22 to hear further arguments from both parties on the application to stay the suspension. If not lifted, PN cannot use its logo in the upcoming Melaka state polls on Oct 31. 

Earlier, PN’s counsel Ivanpal Singh Grewal argued that a stay was warranted given the exceptional circumstances of the Melaka state election on Nov 14 as the suspension had shut the coalition out of the democratic process.

“At the moment, PN cannot meet and decide on its candidates. It cannot engage its grassroots and prepare for the election,” he said.

Senior federal counsel Nurhafizza Azizan, representing the attorney-general, opposed PN’s applications, said the show-cause notice issued to the coalition last month had yet to expire, which meant the registrar had not made a decision on PN.

Further, PN’s application for leave to start judicial review proceedings against the registrar was also premature, she submitted.

However, Azizan is granting PN’s application to seek judicial review on the registrar’s actions as the conditions were met.

“We allow the judicial review application of the applicant (PN),” the judge said. He also said that the matters argued in court on Tuesday by both sets of lawyers need to be ventilated fully during the judicial review. 

The judicial review application was filed last week by PN’s secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, who also represents PAS, as well as secretaries-general of component parties Wong Chia Zhen for Gerakan, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah for Wawasan, and Datuk Sazmi Miah for Pejuang.

Datuk Mohd Zulfikar Ahmad in his capacity as the Registrar of Societies and Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail as the Minister of Home Affairs were the two respondents named in their suit.

The sole ground cited in the twin executive actions was an alleged "wilful contravention" of Clause 7.1 of the PN Constitution — specifically, the failure to invite constituent member party Bersatu to a PN supreme council meeting on July 16, 2026.

Tensions between PAS and Bersatu over dominance of PN have been simmering and boiled over earlier this year, fracturing the largest opposition bloc. PAS officially cut direct political ties with Bersatu in June, but still wants PN as a platform to soften its ultra-conservative religious image to attract non-Muslim voters.