Shahruddin meets Dr M after quitting as deputy works minister

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Shahruddin Md Salleh, who resigned his position as deputy works minister, met with former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday (June 4).

A video put up by Dr Mahathir in a Twitter post with the caption "welcome back" showed Shahruddin walking into Dr Mahathir's office at Yayasan Al-Bukhary in Kuala Lumpur at 5.30pm, and was greeted by the former premier.

Shahruddin had resigned from his post after much speculation over the past week as to whether he was still supporting Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the Perikatan Nasional government.

This follows speculation that Shahruddin, a former political secretary of Muhyiddin, defecting to Dr Mahathir's camp last week.

On June 2, Shahruddin said he wanted to see the party remain strong and his love for Bersatu was above any leaders, including party president Muhyiddin or its former chairman Dr Mahathir, who are currently in a political tussle.

"If I am required to quit my position as the Deputy Works Minister, I will quit, to strengthen Bersatu, so I will be able to focus on the party," he said in a statement.

"If I have to leave my friends in Perikatan Nasional and return to Pakatan Harapan with an assurance that Bersatu will remain strong and survive, then I am prepared to do so," added Shahruddin.

Earlier, on May 30, Shahruddin had met with Dr Mahathir and was supposed to meet the press on his resignation, but he failed to show up at the Bersatu headquarters.

Selamat kembali. pic.twitter.com/WUjnsMhi7d