Zuraida: I stick with what I said

KUALA LUMPUR: Embattled PKR vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin (pic) hopes the party disciplinary board would make a just decision without undue influence from the leadership.

Confirming she had received a show-cause letter dated Jan 15, Zuraida believed the board would make a fair judgement without external influence.

"I stick by what I said at the Renaissance Hotel (last month) because that is the truth," she said without divulging the content of the show-cause letter.

She was responding to PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail's announcement on Saturday (Jan 17) that they have issued a show-cause letter to Zuraida.

"InsyaAllah, I will provide the answers," she said, adding she was given 14 days to respond.

The letter, she added, had a list of issues she was asked to answer to.

She said while the content of a speech during a PKR gathering at the Renaissance Hotel on Dec 8 was mentioned in the letter, her attendance at the party central leadership council meetings was not among the three issues.

“Whatever I said during the PKR gathering at the Renaissance Hotel was nothing but the truth. I have also said it internally to (Datuk Seri) Anwar (Ibrahim), ” said Zuraida.

Anwar is the party president.

She had claimed during her speech at the “Shared Prosperity Vision” dinner on Dec 8 that Anwar tried to convince her that it was PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali in the sex video that went viral in June.

The dinner was organised by Azmin shortly after those aligned to Azmin's faction boycotted the final day of the party's national congress in Melaka.

Anwar and Azmin were at that time openly locked in conflict, with Zuraida aligned to Azmin's faction.

On calls made by ten state PKR chiefs demanding her sacking, Zuraida insinuated that they were not in a position to make such a call.

"They are not my standard," she said after distributing mandarin oranges at two markets in Ampang in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration.

She said this in response to calls made by several "appointed" state chiefs that Zuraida should be booted out of the party for allegedly tarnishing the party's image.