Wan Fayshal claims Labuan MP caught trying to poach Bersatu MPs who were in meeting

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 — Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal today alleged that Labuan MP Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman was also among “operators” working to entice more of the Opposition party’s lawmakers to support the government.

The Bersatu Youth chief claimed that this was exposed when Suhaili allegedly called and tried to entice Bersatu members while they were in a meeting with Perikatan Nasional leaders.

Yesterday, Wan Fayshal alleged that a “Datuk Botak” and a former aide to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, later revealed to be Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak, had been trying to recruit PN lawmakers to defect.

“He (Suhaili) accused me of concocting this fiction about ‘Datuk Botak’. No, it’s real. In fact, he is also involved,” Wan Fayshal, the Machang MP, said today.

“He is involved to seduce our MPs to endorse and support the prime minister. So, he too, is one of the operators now. So he is a traitor,” he said in a press conference outside of the Dewan Rakyat.

“I tell you how it happened: we were in a meeting, and he (Suhailli) with confidence, called our MPs, one by one. He didn’t realise that the Opposition leader was present. When the phone was passed on to the leader, he was surprised. He must have thought he was talking to the MPs alone. He never gave up since he declared support for the prime minister. It’s a blatant approach by him,” he added.

Earlier today, national news agency Bernama reported Suhaili denying that he and three other MPs from Bersatu were coerced into supporting Anwar’s government.

He said Wan Ahmad Fayhsal’s claim that “Datuk Botak” was the mastermind behind the defections was false.

Today, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal insisted “Datuk Botak” was real as he has photos and videos of the person meeting with other Opposition MPs.

On Farhash’s plan to report him for criminal defamation, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal insisted he did not personally name the former in his allegations.

“I did not say that. I was reading out the police report made by Armada, in the press conference. In the report, it stated Farhash’s name as one of the pieces of evidence,” he said.

Between October 12 and November 9, Bersatu’s MPs for Kuala Kangsar, Labuan, Gua Musang, and Jeli publicly declared support for Anwar’s government while insisting they remained loyal to the party, effectively circumventing the law against political defections.