Wednesday February 11, 2009
Kedah Sultan wants to know if Arumugam was forced to quit
By SIRA HABIBU
ALOR STAR: Many people, including the Kedah Sultan, are looking for former Bukit Selambau assemblyman V. Arumugam who has gone missing since Feb 4.
The Kedah Sultan’s confidential secretary Datuk Wira Syed Unan Mashri Syed Abdullah said the Sultan had asked his office to summon Arumugam to the palace following speculation that the elected representative wanted to quit both the State Exco post and Bukit Selambau state seat.
“We were unable to contact him. However, we received Arumugam’s letter stating his intention to quit,” he said.
It is learnt that the Sultan wanted to hear from Arumugam if he had been coerced into making the decision to vacate the state seat.
Arumugam is believed to have flown to Chennai, India, on Monday night after purportedly signing the letter of resignation and a statutory declaration to vacate both the executive council and state assembly posts.
A middleman sent the letter and statutory declaration to Speaker Datuk Dr Abdul Isa Ismail at 5pm on Monday.
In the statutory declaration, Arumugam, who joined PKR after winning the seat in the March 8 general election, purportedly stated that he was quitting the posts because he was being harassed by Barisan Nasional members who wanted him to leave Pakatan Rakyat.
Arumugam’s disappearance has fuelled speculation that he was forced to vacate his Bukit Selambau state seat.
Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak was also unable to contact Arumugam.
However, Kedah Pakatan Rakyat chief Ahmad Kasim said Arumugam was on vacation overseas after his alleged scandal became public knowledge.
“He (Arumugam) is feeling stressed,” he said yesterday. Former Merbok PKR strategy director Zamil Ibrahim alleged that PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was hiding Arumugam. Zamil, who introduced Arumugam to the political arena, resigned from PKR in August last year.
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