Former plantation industries and commodities minister Zuraida Kamaruddin clinched the Ampang parliamentary constituency in the 14th general election (GE14) because she contested under the PKR ticket, not due to the strength of her character, party secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail contended.
In his witness statement to support PKR’s RM10 million defection suit against her at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, he pointed out that this was proven when she failed to win the seat in last year’s 15th general election (GE15) under the Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) ticket.
Saifuddin was disagreeing with Zuraida’s (above) claim that she won over Ampang voters in GE14 in 2018 due to the strength of her character and personal qualities.
“The main factor behind the defendant being elected as MP for Ampang election constituency P99 was due to the party brand that was widely known by Malaysians, especially in Ampang.
“If not for the party branding, logo and banner, the defendant would have lost in GE14.
“This is not an assumption and has been proven in GE15, whereby the defendant, who contested the same election constituency namely Ampang P99 but under a different party ticket, was defeated and lost her deposit due to only obtaining 4,589 votes, which is only 4.3 percent of the 104,421 valid votes,” Saifuddin claimed.
Zuraida, along with 11 other MPs led by former PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, left the party in February 2020 to support Bersatu, Umno-BN and GPS in forming Perikatan Nasional. This formed part of the Sheraton Move that led to the downfall of the then-Pakatan Harapan administration.
In September of that same year before the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, PKR filed a civil action to demand RM10 million over her leaving the party.
However in May last year, she left Bersatu to join PBM.
In GE14 on Nov 19 last year, PKR's Rodziah Ismal won Ampang with a 29,681 majority, defeating her rivals Zuraida (PBM), Ivone Low (MCA), Sasha Lyna (PN), Dr Nurul Ashikin (Pejuang), and Bryan Lai (Warisan), as well as three independents.
‘Willingly signed the bond’
Saifuddin dismissed as irrelevant and an afterthought Zuraida’s contention that she left PKR due to the alleged immoral practice of party president and now Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, pointing out that she never lodged any complaint to the party over the matter.
The home minister claimed that Zuraida willingly signed the RM10 million bond agreement before contesting Ampang under PKR, adding that the then-party vice-president never raised objection over the matter prior to her crossing over to Bersatu.
Referring to minutes of a PKR political bureau meeting on April 17, 2018, Saifuddin claimed that Zuraida did not raise any objection against the announcement that every election candidate would need to sign a “Calon Kit” (Candidate Kit) that contained the bond before they could receive the green light from the party.
“On the contrary, the defendant as part of the party political bureau had agreed with the requirement for the terms and conditions as stated in the bond in order to govern the behaviour of a candidate wishing to contest in GE14 under the ticket and with the support of the party,” Saifuddin contended.
He claimed that the RM10 million is appropriate in order to ensure the party’s interest, good name and reputation in the event that a candidate defects.
Saifuddin noted that the RM10 million bond is calculated among others on costs and spending on the office and organisational structure of the party, damage to party communication network, and damage to the party brand and reputation from efforts to develop the party since 1998.
The PKR secretary-general also contended that the RM10 million bond did not have any effect on Zuraida’s freedom to leave the party and join another political party, as it was merely an agreement for her to pay the amount to PKR over the damage sustained by the party due to the defection.
The legal action is currently being heard by the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, with Saifuddin expected to testify against Zuraida.
The plaintiff (PKR) is represented by counsel Navpreet Singh, while lawyer Nizamuddin Abdul Hamid acted for the defendant. - Mkini
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