PETALING JAYA: Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor was the go-between for Labuan MP Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman to reach the Prime Minister and not a "botak" broker as alleged.
Furthermore, Suhaili said Thursday (Nov 16), he was never offered any ministerial post as claimed by Bersatu Armada (youth wing) chief Wan Ahmad Fahysal Wan Ahmad Kamal.
The Perikatan Nasional MP who was suspended from his party after declaring support for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said it was defamatory to accuse him of trying to lure other Bersatu representatives to follow suit.
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According to Suhaili, he merely told his colleagues in good faith how to get allocations for their constituencies.
On Wednesday (Nov 15) Wah Ahmad Fayhsal refuted Suhaili's denial that a "Datuk Botak" purportedly threatened Perikatan MPs and dangled promises of cash and projects in front of them.
The Machang MP also claimed Suhaili had tried to entice other Bersatu MPs to shift their allegiance to Anwar, who held out the Federal Territories Minister’s post as a carrot.
Wan Ahmad Fahysal also said he had proof of his claims.
Suhaili, however, admitted that he spoke to Gerik MP Fathul Huzir Ayob on how to go about getting his constituency its allocation as they had talked about the difficulty in managing their constituencies without such funding.
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“It is true I called him, but I did not persuade him to jump ship. Prior to my announcement (to support the PM), we had a casual chat with a few other MPs over coffee in Parliament, lamenting the difficulties of managing a constituency without allocations.
“After I announced my support for Anwar, I did call him, remembering our earlier conversation, and told him this is what one should do to get allocations – the condition being one has to support the government.
"I left it entirely up to him.
“Furthermore, Fathul Huzir himself created a new WhatsApp group of 13 MPs apart from the chat groups for Perikatan and Bersatu MPs.
"I then thought he was seriously considering shifting his allegiance. I am no broker, I just happened to share information thinking they too can benefit the way I did.
“Also, I would like to state that my go-between was not a broker but the Sabah Chief Minister. I had requested Hajiji to convey to the Prime Minister that I wanted to take up his offer of supporting him in return for the allocation for my constituency.
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“True enough, after I met Anwar, I got a prorated allocation for November and December of RM300,000. I was informed that next year, I will receive the full allocation of between RM3.5mil and RM4 mil for Labuan as well as other benefits for my constituents.
“I do not even know who this 'Datuk Botak' is, nor am I close to the other three Bersatu MPs (Kuala Kangsar, Jeli and Gua Musang) who have declared their support for Anwar," Suhaili added.
He said he had received a heavy penalty for switching allegiance and advised Wan Ahmad Fahysal not to seek "cheap publicity by taking potshots at me”.
“The party disowned me. While the Kuala Kangsar MP who (declared support) first was only punished with a four-year suspension, I was suspended for six years. It’s not fair, but as a party man, I accept the leadership’s decision.
“I beseech those who slander me not to do so without proof as I am determined to sue them if they continue,” Suhaili said, insisting that his focus was on helping his constituents.
He said all he did was take up the offer from the Prime Minister.
He also claimed that he had promised his constituents ahead of GE15 last year that, should Perikatan not be the government after one year of his being elected, he would shift allegiance to the government of the day.
“Stop dragging my name through the mud for cheap publicity. All I wanted was the allocation for my constituents,” he added.
The three other Bersatu MPs who declared support for Anwar are Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang) and Zahari Kechik (Jeli).
Disciplinary action is also pending against Mohd Azizi and Zahari for breaking ranks.
