THE Federal Court today rejected the application of 16 former UMNO members to get permission for a judicial review of the party’s declaration as invalid.

In a statement, UMNO Secretary-General Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said the matter was decided unanimously by five judges chaired by Chief Justice of Malaya Tan Sri Azahar Mohamed at 11.50am.

“UMNO President Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi expressed his gratitude for this decision. Alhamdulillah,” said Ahmad who is also the Barisan Nasional Secretary-General.

 Ahmad is also grateful for completing one of the most challenging chapter in the party’s struggle.

“UMNO is a party that does a lot of service to the people and the country. I hope our party is always protected,” he added.

He said that according to the court, the 16 people who brought the case were no longer UMNO members according to Clause 20.7 of the UMNO Constitution. Similarly, Section 18C of the Societies Act is not contrary to Article 121 of the Federal Constitution, which means any decision of a political party cannot be challenged in court.

In the judgment as well, the court said the issue of judicial review had also become academic as UMNO had implemented the election process in June 2018 and it was clear that it was a public policy, and the court would not interfere in the affairs of political parties.

The lawyer representing UMNO is Datuk Hafarizam Harun while representing 16 former UMNO members is Hanif Khatri. The Registrar of Societies Malaysia (RoS) is represented by Shamsul Bolhasnan.

Citing a report, 16 members of the former party asked RoS to overturn its decision in March 2018 which allowed UMNO to postpone its party elections until April 2019.

They also applied for a declaration that UMNO is an illegal party effective April 20, last year, thus must be dissolved.