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By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, June 6: The power struggle in Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) has finally ended after the High Court has dismissed former Ampang MP Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin’s application for leave to commence judicial review proceedings against Registrar of Societies (RoS) to seek a declaration that she is the rightful president.
According to a report by Free Malaysia Today (FMT) today, Justice Amarjeet Singh said the court cannot make inquiries into the affairs of political parties under Section 18C of the Societies Act 1966, and the High Court is also bound by the binding precedent set by the Court of Appeal.
Meanwhile, PBM president Datuk Larry Sng Wei Shien who took note of the Court’s decision, thanked Zuraida for her contribution to PBM.
“In politics, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. It doesn’t mean that since you lost, that makes you a bad person. Not at all.
“On the contrary, I want to thank her (Zuraida) for all that she has done to help promote the name of PBM, even when she is no longer a member of the party.
“With her gone together with her supporters from the leadership lineup including the likes of former MPs & ADUNs – Xavier Jayakumar, Datuk Seri Dr Edmund Santhara, Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi, Paul Yong Choo Kiong, Haniza Talha, Daroyah Alwi, Sivasubramaniam Athinarayanan and Leong Cheok Keng, I believe PBM is on a good footing with a clean slate,” he said in a Facebook post today.
Although PBM only has one seat in Parliament presently, Sng who is Julau MP, said the party can take heed of the same situation faced by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) in 2004.
“In 2004, PKR too had only one seat in Parliament and today they are the government of the day.
“I believe PBM will continue to make an impact in Malaysian political landscape and I welcome the court’s decision today,” he added.
The PBM power struggle started when Sng had indicated his intention to make Zuraida his successor as party president in the near future during the party’s Annual General Meeting on Oct 1 last year.
On Oct 7, a PBM Supreme Council Meeting was held and Zuraida was appointed as the new president, both without Sng’s consent.
This led to the sacking of Zuraida and 10 other PBM supreme council members under the reason of undermining the interest of the party and its leader. — DayakDaily
