KUALA LUMPUR: Three members of Barisan Nasional have filed an application for leave to initiate judicial review in their bid to challenge the decision by Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail who approved an additional motion by Umno for the two top positions in the party not to be contested during its election.
The applicants - Umno members from the Kampung Bukit C2 Lembah Pantai branch, Satarriah Abdul Karim and Zaidi Abdul Majid along with MIC Lembah Pantai branch member P. Vellasamy - filed the application at the High Court through Messrs Rohaina & Co on May 15.
Apart from Saifuddin, they also named the government, the Registrar of Society (ROS) and Umno as respondents.
According to the court document, the three sought for a court order to nullify the approval from the Home Minister dated March 7 that excluded Umno from adhering to Section 13 (1)(c)(iv) of the Societies Act 1966.
They sought a declaration that a letter by ROS dated March 3, which contained the additional motion by Umno at the Umno general assembly 2022, as irregular, invalid and against the party's constitution.
The applicants are also seeking a declaration that the position of the Umno president and deputy president must be contested in 30 days from the date of court decision.
They claimed that on Jan 13, the additional motion by Umno was proposed at the party general assembly 2022 - which took place between Jan 11 and Jan 14 - where the motion was on the positions of party president and deputy party president not being contested during the election for the Umno supreme council 2023-2026 term.
They said that on March 2, ROS issued a letter addressed to the Umno secretary-general with the title "Pengesahan Berhubung Usul Tambahan Ucapan Dasar Presiden di Perhimpunan Agung Umno 2022 yang ditandatangani Ketua Pengarah ROS" (Confirmation on the Additional Motion from the President's Keynote Address at the Umno General Assembly 2022 Signed by ROS director-general).
The applicants contended that in the letter, ROS had found that the additional motion was improper and against Article 9.3 of the Umno Constitution and therefore, invalid.
They said ROS had tasked Umno to take corrective measures to adhere to Article 9.3.
The applicants further stated that on March 7, Saifuddin had issued a media statement to say that his ministry had given an exemption under Section 70 of the Societies Act 1966 to Umno from adhering to Section 13(1)(c)(iv) of the same Act.
According to the e-filing system, the application for leave is scheduled for hearing before Justice Amarjeet Singh on June 15.
