What prompted me to write my post on Public Interest Litigation last week?
I went to Registry of Societies (ROS) in December 2016 which is two years after the
verdict on Locus Standi in 2014. (You may read about the 2014 ruling on Locus Standi here.)
One of the first questions asked by the officer at ROS
is if I am a member of Lions Club of Kota Kinabalu Host to which I answered yes. I
was asked to prove that I am a member. I asked as to whether I can make a
complaint if I was not a member and the short answer was, No!
What if I had proof of misappropriation of money from the Lions
club by a few Past Presidents? The answer was that I can’t report as long as I
am not a member.
I received the same question and answer when I went to the
Police station in 2016 and again earlier this year.
To me, it seemed absurd that one cannot report a crime in
any NGO if one is not a member.
Well, if you think this only occurs in a Government
organization such as ROS and PDRM let me tell you that many solicitors
including senior solicitors are also not aware of the verdict given in 2014 by
Justice Hasan Lah.
Early this year a senior lawyer also questioned my legal
standing on a public complaint.
In short your complaint to any government
organization or to the court should be looked into as long as you have real and
genuine interest in the case. Let not any officer of a government organization
or an ill informed lawyer lead you astray
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