PETALING JAYA: Former Umno Supreme Council member Zahidi Zainul Abidin says he is now considering joining Amanah, having received some negative feedback to his earlier comments on wanting to join PKR.
He said the grassroots in Padang Besar had suggested he join Amanah to stand a better chance at helping the constituents, especially when it came to the agriculture sector, Harian Metro reported.
“We are waiting for a proposal from the grassroots to be presented to the Amanah leadership,” he was quoted as saying.
Last Monday, Zahidi said he would be submitting his PKR membership form on Feb 4. He also claimed that several national-level Umno leaders would be doing so, too.
The former Padang Besar MP was then reported to have said that he chose to align himself with Pakatan Harapan (PH) as his former party and the coalition were now part of the unity government.
He added that he opted against joining Perikatan Nasional (PN), because if any of his friends from Umno met with him, they risked getting sacked.
However, Perlis PKR deputy chief Asrul Nizan Abd Jalil then cautioned the party against accepting former Umno leaders, such as Zahidi, as it could disrupt relations between PKR and Umno, who are partners in the unity government.
Asrul was reported to have said allowing former Umno members to join PKR could also upset the party’s grassroots, adding that PKR should be careful not to accept members who did not meet its standards.
Zahidi was sacked by Umno last November after standing as an independent candidate in the 15th general election (GE15), having been dropped by the party.
However, the former deputy communications and multimedia minister failed to defend his Padang Besar seat, getting only 1,939 votes and losing his deposit, in a five-cornered fight that was won by PN’s Rushdan Rusmi. FMT
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