PETALING JAYA: Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin has described the Court of Appeal's decision to reduce the amount she has to pay PKR from RM10mil to RM100,000 as a huge blow to the party.
The former PKR vice-president said the decision reflects how unfairly PKR treated her, especially after 25 years of service to the party.
"I promoted the party's name, increased its membership and won seats based on my own strength and ability.
"RM10mil is indeed unreasonable, so when the court ordered me to pay RM100,000, I will pay it ringgit by ringgit," she said sarcastically during a press conference, reported Sinar Harian on Wednesday (Dec 11).
She added that the money she pays would be her "donation" to PKR.
Zuraid added that the court's decision was a lesson to other parties who attempt to bind their members.
"Loyalty is not to the party but to the struggle – if the struggle is not right, we won't stay," she said.
On Wednesday, a panel of three Court of Appeal judges chaired by Datuk See Mee Chun ruled that Zuraida only had to pay RM100,000 instead of RM10mil for breaching the party's bond conditions.
See, who sat with Judges Datuk Azman Abdullah and Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid, said that the RM10mil amount set was unreasonable.
On June 23, 2023, Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir ordered the former Ampang MP to pay RM10mil to PKR after ruling that a bond she had signed was a valid and binding contract.
In 2020, PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, who initiated the suit on behalf of the party, claimed that Zuraida breached the terms of the bond she had signed.
Zuraida, in her defence, claimed that she was forced to sign the bond in order to be a candidate in the 14th General Election in 2018.
