Pakatan to formally register as coalition

KUALA LUMPUR - In the name of reform and forging a better Malaysia, Pakatan Rakyat leader Lim Kit Siang said on Friday his coalition will formally register itself, now that Registrar of Societies has clarified it was unnecessary to have a minimum of seven component parties before doing so.

“The Pakatan Rakyat will seek registration as a coalition under the Societies Act with the stand of the Registrar of Societies that the law requiring at least seven political parties to register as a society does not apply," the DAP adviser said in a statement issued to the press.

Pakatan consists of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim’s PKR, the Islamist PAS led by Hadi Awang and Lim's long-established DAP.


Despite being criticized as a loose alliance - as opposed to the Umno-led Barisan Nasional which is a legally-registered entity - the Pakatan has still been able to find enormous support, winning five of the country’s 13 states in the 2008 general election.

Nevertheless, it is now encountering stiffer obstacles especially at by-elections, where the Election Commission has clamped down hard on its attempts to campaign as a single entity.

The EC's rationale being that the Pakatan was not officially registered under the Societies Act 1966 and could not be recognised as a 'proper coalition' as such.

Time to get married


Political watchers and its own supporters too have been urging the trio to formalize their alliance.

PKR leader Zaid Ibrahim has been tasked to draft coalitional agreements. He has targeted end-2009 to complete the complex and detailed arrangements.

It has not been easy for the trio to come terms as far as the coalitional agreements are concerned.

While greater electoral success and perhaps even winning the federal government are the carrots, the partners also fear they may each lose their individual identity and support base.

Internal bickering, and some allege even sabotage, have also delayed the process.

"However, as the Registrar of Societies has now taken the position that a coalition of political parties does not fall under this provision, Pakatan Rakyat will seek registration as a coalition under the Societies Act to work for national reforms and political changes if Malaysia is to restore her national unity, sense of purpose and international competitiveness," said Lim. - Malaysian Mirror