Zaharudin: Terengganu MB, Hadi's son not part of 'dedak cartel'

PAS member Zaharudin Muhammad has refuted speculations that Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri and PAS Youth chief Muhammad Khalil Abdul Hadi are part of the "dedak cartel" which he had revealed.

Zaharudin is the son-in-law of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and brother-in-law to Muhammad Khalil.

Zaharudin used the term "dedak cartel" to refer to those who had allegedly taken money from Umno.

Yesterday, he revealed that five individuals were part of the "dedak cartel", but he only provided initials and nicknames, instead of naming them.

He said they were "Dr Hussam II", "Mr NT", "Mr KT", "Mr KH" and "everyone knows" - leading to speculations being spread as to who these five were.

One banner circulated suggested that "Dr Hussam II" is the Terengganu menteri besar, "Mr KH" is Muhammad Khalil, "Mr NT" is PAS information chief Nasrudin Hasan, "Mr KT" is Kuala Nerus MP Khairuddin Aman Razali, and "everyone knows" is PAS central committee member Nik Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz.

"This is false. It's not who I meant. How can the Terengganu menteri besar be involved? How can my brother-in-law be involved?" Zaharudin (photo, below) said in a Facebook posting.

However, he made no mention about Nasrudin, Khairuddin or Nik Abduh.

Allegations that PAS took money from Umno were highlighted when an audio recording was leaked. It was purportedly the voice of Nik Abduh making the admission.

However, Nik Abduh denied this, claiming it was slander.

He later admitted that the recording was indeed that of him, after PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan confirmed the matter.

Nik Abduh went on to claim that he had lied with Abdul Hadi's blessing.

In a separate posting, Zaharudin said he made the revelation about the "dedak cartel" so as to distance the party's leadership from the five operatives.

He warned that taking money from Umno could cause PAS to become entangled with the money laundering investigations against Umno.

"Even if Pakatan Harapan does not have enough proof, it can use Nik Abduh's statement and his allies to claim that the PAS leadership is involved in taking money as a premise to arrest PAS leaders," he said.

Zaharudin said his revelation was done in the interest of the long-term future of PAS. - Mkini