Gombak MP Azmin Ali, in his reply to a suit by voters alleging that he had breached his fiduciary to them, cited his loss of faith in PKR president Anwar Ibrahim as one of the reasons for his decision to leave PKR and join Bersatu.
Explaining his loss of faith in Anwar, Azmin cited among others, Anwar's alleged sexual practices.
In a statement of defence filed through law firm Tetuan Zharid Nizamuddin, Azmin said he did not think Anwar was qualified to lead PKR nor become prime minister.
"The claim is supported by a number of strong allegation with regard to Anwar's action and/or sexual practices that as a Muslim is immoral, particularly after he was freed (from prison) and returned as the PKR president," the statement of defence read.
Azmin cited two cases, namely Mohammed Yusoff Rawther's allegation of sexual assault against Anwar and similar claim by Aidil Azim Abu Adam who had since claimed he was "manipulated" into making the allegation.
Anwar had denied the allegations of sexual misconduct.
Azmin, too, was in 2019 hit by a similar allegation. At the time, he denied it as a smear campaign to end his political career in PKR.
Azmin, in his statement of defence, also questioned the validity of Anwar's pardon.
Anwar was jailed in 2015 on allegations of sodomy but was granted a royal pardon after the 2018 general election.
Azmin, who is also the international trade and industry minister, also responded to the voters' claim that he failed to fulfil his election promises.
He said the promises were made by Pakatan Harapan and failure to deliver was a failure of the coalition and not individuals.
However, he noted that among the manifesto is to combat corruption, something that he is committed to doing even though he is no longer part of the coalition.
Azmin added that there was no way the voters can prove they voted for him as their vote is secret.
He added that even if they could, his duty is to all Malaysians and not Gombak voters alone. Azmin also cited his constitutional right to association.
Azmin also denied that he was responsible for the collapse of the Harapan government in February last year.
He said the government fell with then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's resignation.
In February last year, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin took his party out of Harapan. He was joined by a group of PKR defectors led by Azmin.
Together with the opposition at the time, they formed the new Perikatan Nasional Plus government. - Mkini
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