Azmin, 10 others may face RM10m fine each

O Ex-PKR deputy chief and faction members had signed anti-hopping contract, says Fahmi

PETALING JAYA: Former PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali and other lawmakers from his faction who defected from the party will be slapped with a RM10 million fine each.

PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil said this is in accordance with a legal document that was signed by all party candidates prior to the 14th general election, in its bid to prevent party hopping.

“We will be taking action soon. This includes against Azmin and (former PKR vice-president) Zuraida Kamaruddin,” he said yesterday.

Asked when will the action be taken against them, Fahmi said: “We will wait for the party leadership to make an announcement in due course.”

Amidst ongoing crisis, 11 PKR MPs quit the party on Feb 24 to join Perikatan Nasional to form the new ruling government, moments after Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad resigned as prime minister and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia left Pakatan Harapan (PH).

The 11 are Azmin, Zuraida, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, Baru Bian, Datuk Kamarudin Jaffar, Datuk Mansor Othman, Datuk Rashid Hasnon, Datuk Seri Santhara Kumar, Ali Biju, Willie Mongin and Jonathan Yasin.

Jonathan, however, claimed he never left the party, and Baru later declared support for PKR and PH in their bid to remain in power.

Three other state assemblymen have also quit the party, namely Muhammad Hilman Idham (Gombak Setia, Selangor), Datuk Muhammad Jailani Khamis (Rembia, Malacca) and Dr Chong Fat Full (Pemanis, Johor).

Whether the legal action to be taken by PKR will stand in court, however, remains a question.

In 1992, the Supreme Court had ruled that a Kelantan state law that barred party-hopping was against Article (1)(c) of the Federal Constitution, which allows for freedom of association.

This was following the unceremonious removal of two state assemblymen from their respective seats after they defected from Semangat 46 to join Umno.

The two assemblymen, Nordin Salleh and Wan Mohamed Najib Wan Mohamed, were later ordered to be reinstated to their original seats.

Human rights lawyer Andrew Khoo said in the case of the PKR MPs, it would ultimately be up to the court to decide if the legal document is legitimate.

He said the document could be deemed as infringing the rights to freedom of association, which is guaranteed under the constitution.

“Under the Contracts Act 1950, certain types of contracts cannot be enforced because they are either illegal or contrary to public policy.

“The question is whether the court wants to give this provision effect to the PKR contracts, as it may be unconstitutional.”