Zuraida ordered to pay RM10mil

KUALA LUMPUR: Former PKR vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin has been ordered to pay RM10mil to PKR for breaching an agreement with the party, becoming the first politician to be held to her bond.

Zuraida was also ordered to pay RM50,000 in costs to PKR.

In his decision, High Court judge Justice Akhtar Tahir said the bond signed by Zuraida on April 25, 2018 was a valid and binding contract.

She had signed the bond agreeing to pay RM10mil if she breached an agreement with the party.

The agreement included paying the amount if she quit the party or if her membership was terminated.

However, she left PKR after the Sheraton Move in 2020.

On Zuraida’s claim that the RM10mil sum was “disproportionate”, the court ruled that the defendant’s allegation was baseless and an afterthought.

The judge said the defendant herself had acknowledged during the trial that PKR had spent more than RM10mil on her candidacy.

“This is a clear admission on the part of the defendant that she cannot retract,” Justice Akhtar said yesterday.

The judge said the RM10mil was reasonable to act as a deterrent to prevent party members from acting against its interests.

“A lesser sum would not act as such a deterrence,” the judge said.

In perusing the bond, the court noted that the defendant had promised to pay the sum of RM10mil – no later than seven days – on the occurrence of three events.

These events are: her resignation from the party, upon joining any other political party, or upon becoming an independent elected representative.

“The court rules that the bond is a valid agreement. The court allows the plaintiff’s claim for RM10mil against the defendants, with cost of RM50,000 to be paid by the defendant to the plaintiff,” Justice Akhtar said.

On Sept 28, 2020, PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail sued Zuraida on behalf of PKR, claiming a breach of bond by Zuraida.

In the statement of claim, Saifuddin said Zuraida had executed the bond to pay the party RM10mil in accordance with the terms and conditions that had been set.

According to the statement, Zuraida, together with 10 other PKR MPs, announced her resignation from the party without resigning from her elected post of Ampang MP on Feb 24, 2020.

Saifuddin said Zuraida, together with the other MPs from Bersatu, Barisan Nasional, PAS, Gabungan Parti Sarawak and others then formed a new bloc known as Perikatan Nasional.

Zuraida claimed the lawsuit was “an absurd claim to court” and “utterly frivolous”.

During the trial, Zuraida told the court she was forced to sign the bond in order to contest the 14th General Election in 2018. She said she was given the documents a day before nomination day without explanation on its terms and conditions.

Saifuddin testified that the bond was a requirement for candidates who were chosen to contest on the party ticket and Zuraida knew this.

After the decision yesterday, Zuraida said she would file an appeal.

“This decision is wrong because it deprives citizens from the right to associate or disassociate which is a fundamental right in the Federal Constitution,” she said.

Saifuddin, meanwhile, posted on Facebook that the decision was a lesson for “traitors” who had betrayed the party.

He said the party may also sue the other MPs who had left the party or supported the Sheraton Move.