PETALING JAYA: Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has hit out at attempts to link him with Siti Bainun Ahd Razali, the founder of Rumah Bonda, who has been charged with abusing Bella, a teenager with Down’s syndrome.
“Associating me with the accused in a photograph is unfounded,” he said in an online posting today. “As a political leader, I am unlikely to reject anyone’s request to be photographed.”
Zahid, a former deputy prime minister, said some had accused him of trying to protect Siti Bainun, but pointed out that he had helped many individuals throughout his time in politics, including those who came to him to ask for aid and financial resources for charity.
“But I would never protect any of them if they are charged with being involved in a crime,” he said. “Don’t be quick to accuse and jump to conclusions based on what you can read and see. Let the courts determine the truth through the trial process.”
He said accusations that he had tried to influence the court in the Bella case also did not make sense. “How can I do this when even the prosecutors know that I have no power to do so,” he said.
Separately, Zahid’s daughter, Nurulhidayah, also denied that Siti Bainun was a stepdaughter of Zahid’s, as alleged in online claims.
“If everyone takes pictures with my father and my family, does that mean they’re all related to us?” she said in a comment on a photograph showing Siti Bainun with her family.
Former prime minister Najib Razak had also hit out at those associating him with Siti Bainun, including Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, over a photograph showing them at an award ceremony held by Puteri Umno.
Siti Bainun, 30, is on trial in the High Court on two counts of abandonment and abuse, resulting in Bella sustaining physical and emotional injuries, at a condominium in Wangsa Maju here between February and June 2021. - FMT
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