PETALING JAYA: The government has dismissed Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) claim that Kuala Kangsar MP Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid was intimidated and threatened into supporting Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s leadership.
Responding to PN secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin’s allegation that the Bersatu man was pressured into supporting Anwar to help the government regain a two-thirds majority in Parliament, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said that the government already has a comfortable majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
“I completely reject Hamzah’s wild allegations,” Saifuddin told FMT.
“(Remember) what they (PN) did when they were in power (under former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin). I don’t think the current government is doing the same thing.
“We once lost an MP who defected to support Muhyiddin’s government after facing threats similar to Hamzah’s claims. That MP left PKR and supported Muhyiddin’s government,” the PKR secretary-general said.
He was believed to be alluding to allegations made against former Kuala Langat MP Dr Xavier Jayakumar who quit PKR in March 2021.
Earlier today, Hamzah claimed that Iskandar Dzulkarnain was visited by a prominent businessman who is believed to have close ties to Anwar.
The opposition leader said the businessman had promised the Kuala Kangsar MP monetary rewards and positions in several companies if he supported Anwar.
Hamzah also claimed that Iskandar Dzulkarnain was brought to meet a top Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) official and threatened with corruption charges if he refused to sign a media statement stating his support for the government.
He further alleged that in a recent meeting with PN chairman Muhyiddin, Iskandar Dzulkarnain “appeared visibly distressed due to the pressure on him”.
According to Hamzah, the Kuala Kangsar MP’s statement yesterday, which cited development allocations as justification for supporting the government, greatly differed from the explanations given to several party leaders.
Yesterday, Iskandar Dzulkarnain issued a statement saying that he had decided to support the government, adding that the decision was made after considering the urgent need to address the rising cost of living in his constituency.
However, he said he would not leave or betray Bersatu under any circumstances, adding that he was still loyal to his party.
He said that even though he might face the risk of disciplinary action by Bersatu, he was unwilling to see the voters in his area being left behind economically because of political disputes.
Hamzah said Bersatu’s political bureau will seek further explanation from Iskandar Dzulkarnain before deciding on the next course of action.
FMT has also reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and MACC for comment. - FMT
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