Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has filed a RM10 million suit against its former vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin for allegedly breaching the bond binding her to the party.
The suit was filed by PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail on behalf of the party at the High Court Registrar Office through Messrs William Leong & Co on Sept 28.
It is learned that the case management has been set for Oct 27.
In its statement of claim, the party claimed that Zuraida, who is also Housing and Local Government Minister, has signed a bond on April 25, 2018, binding her to pay RM10 million to the party as stated in the bond’s terms and conditions.
Among the terms and conditions are that the defendant admitted that the party has incurred significant expenses to promote itself and that the defendant also admitted that by appointing her as a candidate and giving her permission to use the party’s logo, emblem, symbol, and flag, the party has further increased the value of the defendant in the amount of more than RM10 million.
PKR claimed that Zuraida has agreed to pay the party a sum of RM10 million at the latest seven days, in the event of several incidents, including, after winning the election on a PKR ticket, she resigns from the party or joins other political parties or becomes an independent elected representative.
The party claimed that on or around Feb 24, Zuraida in a statement with 10 PKR members of Parliament (MPs) announced their resignation from the party without her resigning as Ampang MP, and eventually formed a new bloc known as Perikatan Nasional (PN) with other opposition parties, including Barisan Nasional, PAS and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
PKR said that the federal government led by Pakatan Harapan (PH) was then toppled by PN which saw the defendant being appointed as a minister.
On the same date (Feb 24), PKR claimed that its Central Leadership Council had approved a resolution to strip Zuraida of her party membership with immediate effect and issued a certificate dated July 24 confirming the termination of the membership.
On Aug 7, PKR claimed that it had, through its lawyers, issued a letter of demand requiring Zuraida to pay the sum of RM10 million in accordance with the terms of the bond.
The notice of demand was also published in the party’s newspaper and its news portal Suara Keadilan on July 29, but the party claimed that the defendant had failed/refused to pay the amount in total or part thereof.
The plaintiff claimed that it was entitled to seek RM10 million from the defendant because her resignation as a party member but not as the MP for Ampang, the seat which she won on the party’s ticket using the party’s logo, emblem, flag, services, and support, had deprived the party of the benefits and advantages of having an MP in the Dewan Rakyat and being part of the executive government.
The plaintiff said that it relied on Section 71 of the Contracts Act 1950 to establish its right to recover the remunerations and benefits amounting to RM2,049,459.20 enjoyed by the defendant having been elected as the party’s candidate in the 14th general election as Ampang MP.
As such, the plaintiff is seeking a total of RM12,049,459.20 under Section 71 of the Contracts Act, which comprises RM10 million under the bond and RM2,049,459.20 for the remunerations and benefits the defendant received as an MP and Minister of Housing and Local Government under the PH government, with an interest of five percent annually as well as other costs and relief deemed fit by the court.
Meanwhile, Zuraida today described the RM10 million lawsuit to be “frivolous” but said she will face it head-on in court.
She said that any law student could have explained to the current PKR leadership that the court will not enforce any agreement that breaches the federal constitution.
“I refer them to the Federal court decisions in Datuk Ong Kee Hui and Nordin Salleh, as well as Article 10 of the Constitution.
“PKR seems unaware that in our democracy, elected representatives are free to leave their political parties and for that matter I was sacked,” she said in a statement.
Zuraida also said it is not a surprise that her former party have brought the matter to court.
“Bankrupt of ideas for the improvement of the rakyat, they now rely on sensationalism and cheap publicity stunts,” she said.
Zuraida said that she left PKR because it is no longer focused on the welfare of the people, but on the prime ministerial ambitions of one man.
“Their clamour to seize the Prime Minister’s position could be seen by the whole country during the 22 months of Pakatan Harapan rule and now in the midst of coronavirus pandemic. To have stayed on in such a thoughtless party would have been against my conscience.
“As for this utterly frivolous suit against me, bring it on!” she said.
PKR treasurer general Lee Chean Chung said the party will also pursue similar legal action against other lawmakers who defected after winning on PKR’s ticket during the 2018 election.
According to Lee, the bond signed ahead of the 2018 general election held that candidates contesting under PKR’s banner acknowledged that this would come at a “substantial” cost to the party.
Aside from Zuraida, other lawmakers who quit the party alongside her include Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, Kamaruddin Jaafar, Datuk Mansor Othman, Mohd Rashid Hasnon, Edmund Santhara Kumar Ramanaidu, Ali Biju, Willie Mongin, Muhd Hilman Idham, Muhd Jailani Khamis, Chong Fatt Full.
Previously, Azmin flatly rejected paying PKR the RM10 million, saying he would not give any money to a “damaged party”.
Others have also argued that the bond was unenforceable as it would violate their constitutional right to freedom of association.