Former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim today revealed he had been issued a show-cause letter by Umno asking him to explain his open letter on the Internal Security Act to the prime minister.

The letter also wanted me to explain my participation in an anti-ISA meeting organised by Pakatan Rakyat in Parliament," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.

zaid ibrahim pc 111108 04 Zaid explained that he attended the meeting to show his support for the issue and not because of the opposition.

The Umno politician, who received the show-cause letter last week, said his lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar would be responding to the matter soon.

Zaid also stated that it was likely that he would be receiving other show-cause letters for other speeches and statements he has made.

Asked if he is considering quitting the party before any disciplinary action is instituted against him, he replied: “It is no big deal either way (if he quits or not).”

The former Kota Bharu MP said he would listen to the advice of his lawyer and decide based on this.

"If my lawyer says I should leave, I will leave," he said but did not rule out the possibility of fighting the charges against him.

'Emotional outbursts'

On the attacks against him in relation to a recent speech he made about 'Ketuanan Melayu', Zaid said the outbursts were "not substantive but just merely emotional."

However, the politician affirmed that he would not let this deter him from speaking up for Malays and Malaysians.

"We should be more tolerant to people of different views," he said, calling for more discourses on such matters.

On the allegation of having betrayed his race, Zaid said: "How do I respond to the accusation that I have betrayed my race? I have done more (for the Malays) than some of these people (who attack me)."

Zaid, who was made senator and later de facto law minister after the March 8 elections, quit his post in September after objecting against the use of ISA to detain DAP MP Teresa Kok, controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin and Sin Chew Daily journalist Tan Hoon Cheng. Last week he also resigned from his post as senator.

On Sept 29, he wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, urging him to repeal the ISA.

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