Digest on Malaysian News

Registrar of Societies (ROS) director general Datuk Md Alias Kalil yesterday brushed aside suggestions that the registration of Parti Ekonomi Rakyat Sarawak Bersatu (PERSB) was deliberately being withheld.

He pointed out that PERSB was one of the 21 new political parties throughout Malaysia of which registration is still being processed by the department.

PERSB aims to contest in all 71 seats in the coming state election.

“It is still under consideration…Not just one party, we are talking about 21 parties,” he said without elaborating further, when asked by reporters after the closing of a management course for Kuching and Samarahan organisations at a hotel here.

PERSB, a party comprising mainly former members of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), handed over its registration to ROS on April 20.

It has even declared that it will put up independent candidates if the party is not registered in time for the state election which must be called by next July.

It also claimed that it is self-sufficient and not sponsored by outside individuals because it is funded with money from Koperasi Ekonomi Rakyat Sarawak Berhad (KERSB), which is in the jatropha plantation business.

To a question, Md Alias said there are now six Sarawak-based political parties in ROS’ registry, while four Peninsular-based parties have set up branches in the state.

He also said Sarawak ranks fifth among the states in Malaysia in terms of number of organisations and associations.

“There are 2,792 organisations in Sarawak and 3,484 branches which include those of political parties,” he said.

On another matter, he said ROS has deregistered 22 organisations in Sarawak so far this year.

“More than 90 per cent of those deregistered were because they failed to submit their annual returns to us,” he said.

The closing ceremony yesterday was officiated by Housing and Urban Development Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, who told the participants to be constructive in managing their organisations.

“Work together within the framework of the law. Otherwise, the organisation gets deregistered. And once deregistered, that’s the end.

“Nobody wants to be in organisations if they want to be destructive (and not constructive),” he said.

Yesterday’s course was the seventh organised by ROS in Sarawak this year as part of its outreach programme.

Similar courses were held in Miri, Bintulu, Sibu, Kapit, Sarikei and Marudi.

There are around 1,300 organisations in Kuching and Samarahan.

Fifteen new organisations also received their certificates yesterday, and another seven received certificates of approval to their constitution.

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