Several Umno leaders set to join Anwar’s party soon: Ex-supreme council member

PETALING JAYA - Some Umno leaders are set to join Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) soon, according to former Umno supreme council member Zahidi Zainul Abidin.

Datuk Zahidi’s membership with Umno was terminated before last November’s general election, when he decided to contest as an independent after being dropped as a candidate for the Umno-led Barisan Nasional.

The former deputy communications and multimedia minister said he and several party leaders will submit their membership forms to PKR on Saturday.

“I will officially join PKR with 100 Padang Besar Umno division members. Many branches in Padang Besar are also expected to be dissolved,” he said.

Mr Zahidi had been the MP for Padang Besar in the northern state of Perlis since 2013, but he failed to defend his parliamentary seat when he contested as an independent during the Nov 19 polls.

“Many people in Umno asked me how to join PKR and this includes a number of central leaders.

“Some also want to join Perikatan Nasional, simply because they disagree with the (Umno) president’s ways,” Mr Zahidi was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian on Monday.

He claimed there was discontent among many party leaders and grassroots members over how Umno president Zahid Hamidi and the supreme council had sacked and suspended several members without following due process.

PKR communications director Lee Chean Chung on Monday said his party has not received any application from former or current Umno leaders to join PKR.

He said applications from leaders affiliated with Umno would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

“Usually, for high-profile people, it will be vetted at the central committee level,” he told Malaysian daily The Star.

“It is (a) delicate (matter). So, it’s better to take a prudent approach.”

Mr Lee, who is MP for Petaling Jaya in Selangor, also said PKR was taking a neutral stance on possibly accepting leaders affiliated with Umno.

Umno last Friday sacked former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, and suspended former defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein and several other members for six years.

Mr Zahidi also criticised Zahid, also Malaysia’s deputy prime minister, for removing leaders who were not aligned to him.

“Thankfully, the judges in our country can’t be touched by Ahmad Zahid. Otherwise, they would also get sacked,” added Mr Zahidi.

Zahid is facing an ongoing trial involving 47 counts of money laundering, bribery and criminal breach of trust. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK