In another surprising move, Parti Kita head Zaid Ibrahim has announced that the party will not be dissolved after all, and that he will contest the Kota Bharu parliamentary seat under its banner in the general election.

NONE “The candidates of Pakatan and BN don’t have much experience, and I am the veteran there, so I think I am better compared to the two (coalitions),” Zaid (left) told a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.

Refuting media reports which claimed that he would join PAS, Zaid said Parti Kita is more progressive than the Islamic party.

And while it is an opposition party, it does not share Pakatan Rakyat’s stand on some issues, said the former Kota Bharu MP.

“ ...we are independent and we are contesting based on that... I am contesting, so that I can explain our policies to the people...

“We have a chance to win and I have a chance to win in Kota Bharu, no matter (who) my opponent is - (whether from) PAS or UMNO.”

He said the party will reveal its list of candidates later this month.

Zaid also said Parti Kita will not be dissolved, having resolved its crisis in Kedah and Penang.

As it has also responded to the show-cause letter issued by Registrar of Societies, Zaid said he is confident this will bring the matter to a close.

“I never said I wanted to dissolve the party, I only said Kita had many problems and if the members don't like my leadership, we may dissolve the party.

“But after that, we had meetings and decided that we just needed to sack (certain people) to resolve the problems and we (would not) have to dissolve the party.”

‘Mistake to take in Zamil, Tee Beng’

He skirted the question as to whether Parti Kita can gain the confidence of the people, and claimed that it is operating well after sacking members in Kedah and Penang.

NONE Referring to Zamil Ibrahim (right) and Tan Tee Beng, who had headed Parti Kita in Kedah and Penang respectively, he said: “It was a mistake to take them in but since we have removed them, no more mistakes now.”

Last month, Zaid had announced that the party would be dissolved through an extraordinary general meeting, saying this was necessary "to remove any and all doubts that we indeed do support the opposition".

Leaders in several states, including Kedah and Penang, had disputed the decision.

The party, which turned one in January, was formed after Zaid left PKR in the wake of alleged irregularities in the party polls. He was previously an Umno member.

‘Najib should debate with Anwar’

Meanwhile, when asked about the proposal from former finance minister Daim Zainuddin that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak should let go of his finance minister portfolio , Zaid agreed that it is a good idea but questioned why Daim had not raised this when he was in the government.

“Daim did not make any noise last time, he should have said this before,” he said.

In a recent interview with print media, Daim also gave a thumbs-up to Najib’s performance compared to Anwar, whom he said has been grandstanding but has achieved nothing.

However, Zaid said both leaders have their own strengths and it would be better to let the rakyat judge through a debate.

“Debate is a good thing, I am surprised that Najib does not want a debate,” he said, adding that he himself would also like a debate with Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on whichever topic that the latter wanted.

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