High Court sets Nov 19 to decide on Zuraida's application to strike out PKR lawsuit over breach of bond

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): The High Court set Nov 19 for the decision on the application by former Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin to strike out a suit filed against her by the party.

The suit was filed by PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail against Zuraida on Sept 28, 2020, to claim RM10mil for allegedly breaching the bond binding her to the party.

Lawyer Muhammad Nizamuddin Hamid, representing Zuraida, when contacted by Bernama Wednesday (Oct 6), said the date was set by Judicial Commissioner Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar after hearing submissions from both parties via Zoom on Wednesday.

He said Zuraida filed the application to strike out the suit on Jan 29.

In the statement of claim, PKR claimed that Zuraida had signed a bond on April 25, 2018, binding her to pay RM10mil to the party as stated in the bond’s terms and conditions.

Among the terms and conditions are that the defendant admitted that the party had incurred significant expenses to promote itself and that the defendant also admitted that by appointing her as a candidate and giving her permission to use the party's logo, emblem, symbol, and flag, the party has further increased the value of the defendant to the amount of more than RM10 million.

PKR claimed that Zuraida agreed to pay the party a sum of RM10mil at the latest seven days, in the event of several incidents, after winning the election on a PKR ticket, including if she resigned from the party or joined other political parties or became an independent elected representative.

The party claimed that on or around Feb 24, Zuraida in a statement with 10 PKR members of Parliament (MPs) announced their resignation from the party without her resigning as Ampang MP, and eventually formed a new bloc known as Perikatan Nasional (PN).

PKR is seeking Zuraida to pay RM10mil in accordance with the terms of the bond, or alternatively, RM12,049,459.20 under Section 71 of the Contracts Act, with interest of 5% on the amount to be determined by the court, as well as other costs and relief deemed fit by the court. - Bernama