Zuraida, Azmin’s ‘readiness’ to be sacked an admission of guilt, says PKR sec-gen

KUALA LUMPUR: PKR vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin’s admission that she and deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali were ready to be sacked from the party is an admission of guilt, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (pic).

The PKR secretary-general added that only those who knew they had flouted party rules would openly say they were ready to be fired.

"For me, that's an admission of guilt," Saifuddin, who is also Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister, told reporters here after launching the Malaysia Economic Monitor report by the World Bank Group on Monday (Dec 9).

On Sunday night (Dec 8) at a dinner gathering here with pro-Azmin supporters and leaders aligned to him, Zuraida said that she and Azmin were ready in case they get sacked from the party.

"If we get fired, Azmin and I are ready.

"We are willing to be sacrificed for the sake of the party," she said in her speech at the Shared Prosperity Vision (SPV) 2030 dinner here Sunday (Dec 8) night.

Saifuddin said that in line with party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's stance, no disciplinary action would be taken against Zuraida and Azmin, who snubbed the final day of the PKR national congress on Sunday (Dec 8) before holding their own gathering.

"From Anwar's perspective, he is still taking the road towards reconciliation, to sit down and have a discussion," he said.

However, he added that delegates at the recently concluded PKR national congress expressed their intolerance towards any leaders found to be flouting party rules, including skipping meetings, referring to Azmin and Zuraida.

The four-day PKR national congress in Melaka was marred by a fistfight and arrest of two individuals from rival factions.

The congress also saw the leaders trading barbs and walkouts by pro-Azmin delegates after claiming that delegates were delivering speeches which were critical of him.

Saifuddin, who was also asked about the party's stance on Azmin's sex tape scandal, said he refused to get involved in the issue before police concluded their investigations this month.

He was referring to a sex video featuring former Santubong PKR Youth chief Haziq Abdullah Abdul Aziz and another person allegedly resembling Azmin.

Haziq claimed the man in the video was Azmin but the latter claimed it to be a nefarious ploy to destroy his political career.

On Sunday night, Zuraida also claimed that Anwar tried to convince her the sex video allegedly involving Azmin was real.