KUALA LUMPUR: PKR vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin would have known the full details behind the sacking of party central committee member Zakaria Abdul Hamid had she attended the party’s meetings, said Fahmi Fadzil (pix).
This came after Zuraida slammed the party for being selective on who it takes action against, after Zakaria was dismissed over suspicion of corruption and bribery.
“I think if she had been present at the party’s weekly political bureau meetings and also yesterday’s central leadership meeting, the information would have been very clear as it was to the rest of us on why the action was taken.
“So I urge once again for all party leaders to always attend party meetings and use this platform to discuss on various matters,” Fahmi, who is PKR communications director, told reporters when met in Parliament, here, today.
“I don’t think it’s for us to explain through the media. To me, that does not settle any problems and will only complicate matters. The best thing to do is for her to attend meetings,” he added.
Zuraida had earlier today said in a statement that if PKR wanted to take action against Zakaria, who has not been proven guilty, then the party was also obliged to take action against any other members who had violated the country’s laws.
“This involves cases of assault, gangsterism and asking for bribes during a party election,“ she said.
Zakaria, together with Pahang PKR member Ismail Dulhadi, were sacked by PKR on Sunday following corruption allegations brought against them by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), said to have happened during the party’s elections last year.
The party’s disciplinary board chairperson Datuk Ahmad Kassim said the decision was made after being advised by the MACC via a letter dated Oct 23, 2019.
On Zakaria’s claim that he was not given the chance by PKR to defend himself, Fahmi said the former political secretary to Works Minister Baru Bian could still appeal the decision.
“The party constitution allows any member who had been sacked to appeal to the president to be allowed to return as a member. The avenue is there for any members to come and discuss,” he said.
