PETALING JAYA: Bersatu lawmakers have refuted fresh allegations by a party colleague that they were forced or enticed into supporting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The three MPs from Jeli, Labuan and Gua Musang reiterated that they are now backing the unity government out of their own free will and are doing so in the interest of their constituents.
In fact, Jeli MP Zahari Kechik said he will not hesitate to take legal action against anyone accusing him of being bribed or coerced.
“If there is evidence in their statements that they stated my name, I will not hesitate to take legal action.
“This means that I deny that there were any threats or inducements (towards me),” he told The Star yesterday.
According to Zahari, he had stated clearly before that he supported the unity government out of his own free will and that he was not promised anything by anyone.
We were not coerced: (from left) Suhaili, Zahari, mohd azizi and Iskandar Dzulkarnain have refuted claims from a party colleague that they were forced to support Anwar.
“I did this (support Anwar) because of the rakyat in my constituency,” said Zahari, a lawyer.
“I once again stress that I did this out of the welfare of my people, no other reasons,” he added.
The day before, Zahari’s colleague in Bersatu and fellow MP from Kelantan, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, claimed he had proof of a plot to court the party’s lawmakers into supporting the unity government.
Besides Zahari, Datuk Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan) and Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang) had over the past two weeks announced that they were supporting the administration.
When contacted, Suhaili also denied Wan Ahmad Fayhsal’s claims.
“That stupid statement by Wan Ahmad Fayhsal was aimed at getting cheap publicity,” he said, reiterating that he was not forced or threatened into supporting Anwar.
“So, what was claimed by Wan Ahmad Fayhsal who’s also Bersatu youth chief, is merely a lie and it is untrue,” he added.
Similarly, Mohd Azizi also told a news portal that he will sue Bersatu information chief Datuk Razali Idris for claiming he received an inducement for supporting Anwar.
Mohd Azizi described Razali’s accusations as wrong and libellous.
“I will file a summons against him (Razali) for claiming I received a bribe,” Mohd Azizi was quoted as saying.
On Nov 11, Razali had alleged that there were corrupt elements involved in getting the four Bersatu MPs to support Anwar.
As of press time, Iskandar Dzulkarnain could not be reached for comment.
