The Registrar of Societies appears to be setting the table to de-register the DAP, as BN has mobilised its machinery against the party as well as against Pakatan Rakyat, says DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

"The DAP central executive committee(CEC) will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday night to discuss the future course of action against the latest lie and attack by ROS director.

"We see ROS as setting the ground and conditions to de-register the DAP," Lim, who is also chief minister of Penang, said in a statement yesterday.

ROS director Abdul Rahman Othman has said he found that some 700 DAP members were denied the right to vote during the party election last year.

'Senior government servant openly lies'

"I have never seen a senior government servant openly lie, and without any sense of shame, despite ROS having written to us to demand evidence of our notices sent to four DAP branches to attend the party congress.

"These four branches comprise less than 15 delegates, and not ROS' claim of more than 700 delegates. How can Abdul Rahman magnify and exaggerate the disputed less than 15 delegates to suddenly become more than 700 delegates?" Lim asked.

As a matter of fact, he said, delegates from three out of the four branches were present during the party's election last year.

The ROS "witch hunt" comes as Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia accused DAP of hiring a "Red Bean Army" to attack the government in cyberspace.

Lim said he held BN responsible for any polarisation in the country as it came down on the opposition coalition, including the recent barring of PKR's Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah from entering Sabah.