KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 20): The Registrar of Societies on Tuesday decided to deregister Perikatan Nasional, citing the coalition’s inadequate response to a show-cause notice issued last month.
The documents and explanations failed to refute the grounds for the cancellation of registration, nor did they offer a sound justification for maintaining the registration, the registrar said in a statement.
“In this regard, the Registrar of Societies has decided to cancel the registration of Perikatan Nasional” under subparagraph 13(1)(c)(iv) of the Societies Act 1966, the statement read.
A show-cause notice was issued on Sept 22 demanding the main opposition coalition to explain within 30 days why its registration should not be deregistered following a complaint lodged by component party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.
At the heart of the complaint was the accusation that Perikatan Nasional’s failed to invite Bersatu to the coalition’s supreme council meeting on July 16, 2026. Apart from the show-cause notice issuance, Perikatan Nasional was also told to suspend its activities.
Every registered society is responsible for ensuring compliance with the law as well as its own respective constitution, the registrar stressed on Tuesday.
The suspension would mean that component parties could not contest the upcoming Melaka state polls on Oct 31 under the Perikatan Nasional banner.
Perikatan Nasional had since gone to the court to quash the notices. On Oct 13, the High Court declined to grant an interim stay against the suspension but allowed the coalition to challenge the suspension through a judicial review.
The judicial review application was filed by the coalition’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.
Tensions between PAS and Bersatu over dominance of Perikatan Nasional have been simmering and boiled over earlier this year, fracturing the largest opposition bloc.
PAS 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.
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