KAJANG, Jan 30 — PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution said he had to sue party vice president Zuraida Kamaruddin for claiming he accepted funds meant for Kelantan.

Saifuddin pointed out that this was the first time he was suing for defamation in his entire political career of nearly 30 years.

"But when it comes to a level where the accusation was very harsh and rude then I have no other choice.

"This is something between Saifuddin and Zuraida and not between the minister of domestic trade and consumer affairs against the minister of housing and local government,” he told reporters after attending a ‘Buy Malaysia Campaign’ at Tesco Extra here today.

In her speech at Renaissance Hotel last year, Zuraida alleged that Saifuddin received "millions of ringgit” while he was managing Kelantan’s Tabung Amanah Tok Kenali under then-mentri besar, the late Datuk Seri Nik Aziz Nik Mat, from 2004 to 2007.

Saifuddin said the claim was baseless as Kelantan did not have such funds and Nik Aziz was known as a modest and honest leader.

"I was appointed by the mentri besar of Kelantan. Kelantan is a poor state. If they have millions of ringgit, they could use it to help their people… why would they give millions to Saifuddin?

"I want to put a fullstop on this (slander),” he said.

On January 18, Zuraida was reportedly given 14 days to respond to a show-cause letter from the party’s disciplinary committee over her controversial comments against party top leaders.

The board has reportedly begun investigating various reports of misconduct involving senior party members and leaders including Zuraida, believed to be related to the incidents during and after the 2019 PKR National Congress in Melaka last December.

Zuraida and PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali were among the leaders who boycotted the last day of the congress on December 8, and instead held a gathering at the Renaissance Hotel to criticise their own party leaders.

Apart from Saifuddin, others criticised during the gathering include PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s political secretary, Farhash Wafa Salvador.