PKR to proceed with legal action against 10 former MPs who left party

PUTRAJAYA - Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) will proceed with legal action against 10 former Members of Parliament (MP) who violated the party's binding terms.

Its secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the facts of the case were the same as the suit that the party had submitted against former Ampang MP Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin.

"We started with Zuraida. We won.

"The next step is on other PKR MPs who left. The facts of the case are the same. God willing, the chances of winning are bright," he wrote on Facebook on Friday.

He said the Kuala Lumpur High Court decision which allowed PKR's RM10 million claim against Zuraida who was the former PKR vice president should be a lesson.

"Don't be unfaithful. The happiness is only temporary," he said.

Saifuddin alleged that a follower of Zuraida who left the party previously submitted an application to re-join PKR.

"I'm sorry, joining a party is not like changing clothes," he said.

Looking back at the time facing the 14th General Election (GE14) in 2018, Saifuddin said that all PKR candidates gathered at the party headquarters to sign a bond before handing over the appointment letter.

The bond binded PKR MPs who won the election to pay RM10 million if they left the party.

"As secretary general, I assisted the president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail at the candidates’ deed handover ceremony," he said.

However, a number of PKR MPs breached the bond after winning the election, according to him.

"The Pakatan Harapan (PH) government collapsed and then I initiated legal action against them," he said.

PKR previously filed a claim against 19 MPs and assemblymen who violated the bond.

Besides Zuraida, they were former Gombak MP Datuk Seri Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah (Indera Mahkota), Datuk Kamaruddin Jaffar (Bandar Tun Razak), Datuk Mansor Othman (Nibong Tebal), Datuk Rashid Hasnon (Batu Pahat), Datuk Seri Dr Santhara Kumar (Segamat), Ali Biju (Saratok), Jonathan Yasin (Ranau) and Baru Bian (Selangau) as well as Datuk Willie Mongin (Puncak Borneo).

While the assemblymen involved were Dr Chong Fat Full (Pemanis), Datuk Muhammad Jailani Khamis (Rembia), Datuk Abdul Yunus Jamahri (Kuala Krau), Muhammad Hilman Idham (Gombak Setia), Azman Nasrudin (Lunas), Dr Robert Ling Kui Ee (Sidam ), Haniza Mohamed Talha (Jaya Valley), Daroyah Alwi (Sementa) and Zulkifli Ibrahim (Sungai Aceh).