No letter yet from ROS to officially declare SAPA an unlawful society

KUCHING, Nov 15,2014: Sarawak Association for People's Aspiration (SAPA) has not received any letter from the Registrar of Societies (ROS) on the decision by the Home Ministry, it said on its Facebook page, in response to the ministry's decision to declare SAPA as an unlawful society.

SAPA called the declaration as "unprecedented of Putrajaya to take this step".

 

Lina Soo...SAPA president

"We treat it as a news until ROS send the notification," it said.

Meanwhile, SAPA president Lina Soo said:"If it is true, we will file an application in court to set aside the order."

The Home Ministry has SAPA as an illegal organisation through a gazettification yesterday for contravening section 5(1) of the Societies Act 1966,.

The ministry secretary general Mohamad Khalid Shariff in a statement today said SAPA has been organising activities which are deemed to be a threat to  national security and public safety.

"Section 5 of the Societies Act (Act 335) gives power to the minister to declare an organisation as contravening the laws,"  Khalid said.

He said the minister, in accordance with his discretion, can declare an organisation or its branches as against the law if it is within his views that such organisation is a threat to national security and public safety.

He said with the declaration, SAPA or its officers or agents can no longer use the name, its symbol, logo as a legal organisation, in accordance with section 7(3)(b) of the Societies Act.

Khalid said no person can hold any office bearers of the association or using it to organise activities and if they are found to have done so, they can be investigated and charged in court.

He said all assets, properties and accounts of SAPA would be handed over to the Insolvency Department for further action.

Khalid members of the public to furnish information to curb SAPA's activities.

SAPA was approved and registered by the ROS in November 2013 and has been carrying out its activities and it raised its profile with its U.N. Petition which was lodged with the United Nations Kuala Lumpur office in August 2014.

Over 20,000 signature has been collected in Sabah and Sarawak.

Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian had recently openly accused SAPA activities as “secessionist”.

Soo condemned Baru's action as irresponsible and mischievous with ill intent to get SAPA into trouble and had demanded an apology from him.

She said SAPA has always carried out its activities within its Constitution and has never advocated secession which is not in our dictionary.