PETALING JAYA: The decision by 20 PKR leaders to come out in support of two party members who were sacked raises alarm bells, said Datuk Mohamed Arshad Raji.
The president of the National Patriots Association (Patriot) said the sacking of the two party members, Zakaria Abdul Hamid and Ismail Dulhadi, is not an internal party issue anymore, as they “were alleged to have abused their political positions to offer projects to their fellow party members”.
“The case of two PKR leaders being sacked from the party is now not just internal party matter but also of public interest,“ said Arshad in a statement today.
“While the criminality of the case regarding corruption is to be determined by the court, it surely infringed ethics and party regulations if the allegations are true.”
Arshad said the fact that three of the PKR leaders who had lent their support were Cabinet members is worrying as any case involving corruption should never be taken lightly.
“The merits of the case should have been studied before they protested against the sacking of the duo. PKR is part of the ruling coalition and this is of serious concern to the public. It calls into question the integrity of the political leaders,“ added Arshad.
He said it is of paramount importance that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) leaves no stones unturned in their investigations against the two, as ‘Malaysia Baru’ works to free itself from the shackles of corruption.
“The alleged graft case happened during the first year of the Pakatan Harapan government. If true, this is very shameful,“ said Arshad.
“This episode serves as a warning to all PH parties that the people cannot tolerate any form of corruption, even for small amounts and involving small projects. PH parties must keep their political leaders at all levels in check.”
Yesterday 22 of PKR’s central committee (MPP) members, including its deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali rejected the sacking of Zakaria Abdul Hamid as MPP member, in a memo to PKR disciplinary board.
Deputy Rural Development Minister R. Sivarasa, PKR vice-presidents Zuraida Kamaruddin, and Tian Chua were also part of the group mentioned in the memo.
This comes following the dismissals last Sunday, of Zakaria Abdul Hamid, who is the Bera PKR Chief, and Ismail Dulhadi, over allegations of corruption brought against them by the MACC.
On Tuesday, the MACC admitted to making a mistake by recommending PKR to take action against the members alleged to have been involved in misconducts.
Its deputy commissioner (Operations) Datuk Seri Azam Baki said it was not MACC’s policy to make such a recommendation to any political party over the wrongdoing of its members.
