Get EC to register political parties, civil society told

[superadmin]

PETALING JAYA: Civil society should push Putrajaya to look into having the Election Commission be responsible for the registration of political parties, says an opposition MP.

Describing the issue as a “low hanging fruit” that could be attained by reform-minded societies, Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming said many political parties would want to push for the change.

At present, political parties are registered with the Registrar of Societies.

Ong said Umno would be among those parties which he said had been victimised of late by the Registrar of Societies; another is Muda, which is trying to get itself registered as a political party.

He said shifting the responsibility from the RoS to the EC would also help address issues such as whether Warisan, a Sabah-based party, could contest in West Malaysian seats.

“It’s more doable in the short term as you could find broader consensus,” he said.

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