KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 — Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin reportedly revealed that Umno leaders will be following him in leaving the party en masse to join PKR.
According to Malay daily Sinar Harian, the former deputy minister of communications and multimedia said he has decided to submit his membership form to PKR on February 4, and claims many Umno leaders, including those highly ranked at the national level, had voiced their intention to join him.
This morning, Bernama reported Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as saying that his coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) will take the views of component party leaders into consideration before deciding to accept expelled Umno leaders.
This was to preserve cooperation within the current unity government, he told reporters after officiating at the opening of the Tambun parliamentary service centre.
He said at the moment none of the sacked Umno leaders had expressed any desire to join PH.
Also earlier today, former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin who was among those sacked from the party, said that he will not be appealing the decision.
Khairy said he had discussed the matter with former supreme council member Tan Sri Noh Omar and former Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan who were also part of those purged from the party.
“No, I won’t be appealing. I discussed the matter with Noh and Shahril. And what’s the point of appealing? They are intent on throwing us out or keeping us in the sin bin”, he said in an interview with BFM radio this morning.
Last Friday, Umno had carried out a purge of the party, expelling a total of 44 members for several offences including contesting as independent candidates and helping opposition candidates in the polls.
Additionally, former vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and former information chief Shahril Sufian Hamdan were suspended for six years, along with Datuk Maulizan Bujang and Datuk Seri Mohd Salim Sharif.
