Lawyer Lim Wei Jiet, who appeared for the eight applicants representing Parti Kemakmuran Negara, said judge Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid allowed the application as there was no objection from the Attorney-General.

This means the court will now proceed to hear the merits of the application.  The judge fixed further case management for July 27.

The party’s founding members said they submitted an application on March 9, 2021 to the Registrar of Societies (RoS), who took more than a year to respond, before eventually sending a notice dated March 16 this year rejecting their application.

The applicants then appealed against that decision to the home minister on March 25. However, the minister has yet to make a decision despite a lapse of more than three months.

They are now seeking a court order for the minister to make a decision on their appeal within seven days, should the judicial review succeed.

In the suit, the founders claim that the delay was unreasonable, unlawful and an infringement of their right to form associations under the Federal Constitution.

The party is led by Brig-Gen (Rtd) Abdullah Mohamed, who served in the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF).

His co-founders comprise veterans from the army, the navy and RMAF.