KUALA LUMPUR: Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim says he has given Perikatan Nasional a "state" as a "present" in return for accepting him within their ranks.
"Recently I was sacked from my previous party (Umno).
"But I am thankful that Perikatan had accepted me, and I had given them a 'state' as a 'present' in return," said Shahidan, who was also the former Perlis mentri besar, drawing laughter from the floor.
He made the remarks while debating the Royal Address in parliament on Tuesday (Feb 14).
In November last year, Umno had sacked Shahidan and several others contesting in the 15th General Election (GE15) under a different banner.
Shahidan had been in control of the Arau parliamentary constituency since 1986 apart from holding the portfolio of MB for the state from 1995 to 2008.
He also asked the Registrar of Societies (ROS) to look into the validity of the purge made by Umno recently.
"In the current regulations, it only mentions sacking and suspension. But what Umno is doing now is a kind of revamp without following proper procedures. Please look into it," he claimed.
Umno had recently sacked several people including its former youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and former party supreme council member Tan Sri Noh Omar, and suspended several others, including former vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
Shahidan also asked the government to give equal allocations to all MPs despite their political beliefs.
"We are all MPs. We are elected reps too. Most of us in Perikatan are new faces.
"Please don't deny our rights to access to allocations. This is a democratic country," he said.
