Wives continue to slug it out over Bunga Tanjung
Malaysiakini.com
May 9, 2008 
Athi Veerangan 

The battle between the wives of the elected representatives from the Penang Pakatan Rakyat government (PRWs) and those from the previous Barisan Nasional government (BNWs) continues with the PRWs
MCPX
de facto leader calling on the BNWs to withdraw gracefully their application submitted to the Registrar of Society to dissolve the organisation.

The PRWs want the BNWs to hand over to them the organisation and the more than half-million ringgit in its account.

Since their application was both ultra vires and had failed to comply with the 14-day period given by the ROS for submission of application to dissolve NGOs, it is appropriate for former PBT president Chui Kah Peng to withdraw her application.

betty chew“Chui should not be stubborn. She should withdraw her application since she was plying in legally dangerous water,” said Betty Chew, wife of Penang CM Lim Guan Eng.

“What PBT former members did was wrong legally. She (Chui) should admit her mistakes and withdraw the application to dissolve PBT on her own accord,” Chew said.

Penang ROS director Mohd Jamil Mohd Noor has stated that the submission of the application for dissolution was not made within the 14-day period from the date the decision to dissolve was made and the date of submission.

The previous leadership has submitted the application to dissolve PBT on April 4, 26 days after the decision to dissolve the organisation was adopted by its out-going members on March 9.

Chew said even if Chui and company failed to withdraw their application, the ROS should reject it as there was sufficient grounds to do so.

Automatic transfer 

After their husbands have started it, the PRWs have taken over to get to the bottom of the controversy surrounding PBT and pursue the matter with BNWs.

The BNWs have allegedly committed a legal infringement by dissolving PBT and disbursing its money remaining in its account amounting to RM590,665 to various organisations.

Although Chui, the wife of former Penang CM Dr Koh Tsu Koon, claimed it was an exclusive club for BNWs, PBT constitution was unambiguous in classifying it as an exclusive club for wives of state assemblypersons and members of Parliament of the ruling party in Penang.

So it is unclear if wives of state assemblypersons and MPs from the opposition are also eligible to be PBT members.

But Chew has argued that as their husbands were defeated on March 8, BNWs automatically lost their membership because they were now wives of the opposition coalition.

"Hence, they do not have any legal right to conduct an AGM, let alone dissolve the organisation," she reasoned.

And Chew and company now want PBT and its money handed over to them.

The ROS decision on the matter is expected to be made by its headquarters later this month.

Copyright © 1999-2007 Mkini Dotcom Sdn. Bhd.
Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news//82578