Not compensated to make way for Anwar, Danyal rubbishes claims he is a “traitor” to his constituents for vacating seat.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will contest the Port Dickson parliamentary seat to enable the PKR president to return to Parliament.
The announcement was made by Port Dickson MP Datuk Danyal Balagopal Abdullah at a special press conference at the PKR headquarters today.
Danyal said the decision was made to assist Anwar in his efforts to return as an MP and subsequently become the eighth prime minister.
“I am confident that Anwar will win the seat hands down and proceed to become the next Member of Parliament for Port Dickson and Insya-Allah, eventually become our nation’s eighth prime minister.
“Hence, I am now announcing my resignation as a Member of the House of representatives in the Malaysian Parliament with immediate effect. I have sent my resignation letter as MP to Dewan Rakyat Speaker earlier today,” he told reporters.
Also present at the special press conference were PKR Secretary-General Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, former Pandan MP and founder of non-governmental organisation Invoke Rafizi Ramli, Sungai Petani MP Datuk Johari Abdul and Wangsa Maju MP Datin Paduka Dr Tan Yee Kew.
When asked if any compensation was given to Danyal for his decision to vacate his seat, Saifuddin said there was no such thing.
“There was none, that is the beauty of being a PKR member, we don’t have to worry about that,” he said.
According to Danyal, he first discussed his aspiration to vacate his seat with former Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli who thanked him for his intended sacrifice for the party and nation.
He also held several meetings with Saifuddin and Anwar himself who was pleasantly obliged with his gesture.
“Late last night I was informed by Rafizi that after discussion with the party leadership, Anwar had decided to accept my offer and chose Port Dickson as the constituency where he would like to stand,” he said.
Danyal, a former admiral in the Navy, also thanked his voters and supporters who voted for him in the last general election.
He won the Port Dickson seat with a comfortable majority of 17,710 votes.
He got 36,225 votes, defeating Barisan Nasional’s VS Mogan (18,515 votes) and PAS’ Mahfuz Roslan (6,594 votes).
Danyal maintained that despite his exit as Port Dickson MP, he will still be there to assist Anwar in serving the people.
“I’m not quitting my people. I will stay on in Port Dickson and I will be Anwar’s eyes and ears on the ground.”