Things are not looking good for Mahathir Mohamad's chances for the upcoming general election in Malaysia.

The former Prime Minister had set up his own political party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Malaysian United Indigenous Party or PPBM).

PPBM then entered into a coalition with other opposition political parties to form the Pakatan Harapan (Pact of Hope or PH). Mahathir was also chosen as PH's candidate for Prime Minister for the election.

Disband order

However on April 5, Director-General Surayati Ibrahim of the Registrar of Societies (RoS) announced that they would revoke PPBM's registration, and temporarily disband the party.

The reason? The party had supposedly failed to furnish documents within a stipulated deadline.

RoS had previously given PPBM notice to submit the minutes of its branch, divisional and central leadership meetings.

What's next?

PPBM are barred from conducting any activities nor use its logo or name for a period of 30 days, starting on April 5.

The party now has 30 days to submit all the required information and documents to the RoS. If they comply, the disband order could be cancelled.

If not, the party's registration could be cancelled outright.

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This will cause problems for PH too, as its application to register as a formal coalition has yet to be confirmed.

The sticky situation that PPBM finds itself in will likely complicate the process.

This is not the best of omens for PH, so soon before the general election. It is speculated that Prime Minister Najib Razak will call for the dissolution of Parliament on April 6, and formally announce the election.

It's possible that due to these administrative problems, PH might not even be able to compete at the polls.

Top image by MOHD RASFAN/AFP/Getty Images.