PKR mocked as “Parti Kutip Rubbish” for accepting UMNO renegade Zahidi

SURELY some Pakatan Harapan (PH) backers are taken aback by the decision of PKR to admit former UMNO supreme council member Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin into the component party.

This had led to the mocking of PKR as “Parti Kutip Rubbish” for willingly accepted the former deputy communications and multimedia minister who was best remembered for his verbal attack on Universiti Malaysia Sabah student Veveonah Mosibin who had to sit on a tree at night to get internet coverage.

Source: Malay Mail

Moreover, the former two-term Padang Besar MP prior to his axing from UMNO for contesting the Padang Besar parliamentary seat and Titi Tinggi state seat as an independent in the 15th General Election (GE15) has finally landed in PKR after having made a U-turn in February 2023 that he would be joining Amanah instead of PKR.

In netizens’ reaction to a Free Malaysia Today news report about Zahidi confirming that PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (who is also the PH chairman) has endorsed his admission, it is little wonder that the most popular comment has been that PKR “is apt at collecting rubbish”.

Even vocal UMNO supreme council member Datuk Dr Puad Zarkashi has played down Zahidi’s move to join PKR as one simply aimed at ensuring his political survival.

In the contention of the Johor state assembly speaker, Zahidi was no longer relevant in Perlis politics after suffering heavy losses as an independent candidate in the 2022 national polls, even losing his deposits.

In an interview with Berita Harian, Zahidi who was the former UMNO Padang Besar division chief said he is eyeing to establish 400 more PKR branches in Perlis by the next general election, of which more than 100 would be in Padang Besar.

“This is part of our ambition to deliver this state to the unity government in the next election,” the mainstream Malay language daily quoted Zahidi as saying.

Come what may, a netizen summed up best that it would be fine for Zahidi to just be an ordinary PKR member but that he would surely lose respect for the party if the latter “is give a party position or allowed to contest in an election”. 

- focus malaysia