In defence of Parti Kita chief Zaid Ibrahim, his party leaders are rallying around him in the wake of stinging criticism following his comments on Sodomy II.

Zaid had previously urged PKR de facto leader and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to provide his DNA samples to the court to prove his innocence once and for all, in the latter’s ongoing sodomy trial.

However, Seri Setia assemblyperson and PKR communications director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad had snapped at Zaid, claiming that Zaid had ‘selective amnesia’ and had instead sung a different tune when he was in PKR, often agreeing that evidence against Anwar was ‘made up’ .

To that, the Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air leaders are throwing the gauntlet back at him, challenging Nik Nazmi to come up with evidence that Zaid had stated a different stand during his short-lived tenure in PKR.

“We just want to correct the accusations made by this young YB, who may still be immature in his critique...

NONE “So we want to challenge him to provide evidence that Zaid had previously said that the charges against Anwar have been manufactured. I believe that there would be minutes from whatever meetings that Zaid attended,” said Parti Kita secretary Abd Latif A Tambi ( left ).

In a press conference at the party headquarters - just a stone’s throw away from PKR’s  - Abd Latif also reiterated that Zaid had no ill intentions when requesting Anwar to provide the samples as it was “merely to clear the air by proving his innocence, hence boosting his credibility”.

“In fact, Zaid had always maintained during the political bureau meeting that it was improper and unwise to print and distribute the Pusrawi report to the streets nationwide but his advice was never considered,” he said, referring to the leaked medical report by a doctor in Pusrawi Hospital which stated that Anwar’s accuser Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan was not sodomised .

NONE Party treasurer Rashid Azad Khan ( right ) said that it should be Nik Nazmi who is investigated over his remarks that he “does not trust the integrity of the legal process”.

“Nik Nazmi said that he does not believe in the entire court system. He also claimed that the charges were fabricated. I think that the authorities must check this. He must explain further.

“He actually should be charged for this and the police should investigate this,” said Rashid.

In Nik Nazmi’s statement yesterday, he said: “It is unbelievable that (Zaid who is) trained in law, and who understands the state of the country’s judiciary after the judicial crisis of 1988, suddenly believes in the integrity of the system.”

Kita to back Snap

Meanwhile, Kita said that they will be backing Pakatan Rakyat’s Sarawak National Party (Snap) in the upcoming state elections.

“Zaid’s stand is to let Sarawakians represent Sarawakians. So we will support Snap. There is no bilateral agreement yet, but there’s just an understanding,” said Abd Latif.

When asked what he meant by ‘support’, he merely said that Kita will provide that of a moral kind.

“Even if it has to do with resources, we will help. If they need us to campaign for them, we will go there.

“They're a friendly party and Kita doesn’t have a hidden agenda. They have the same struggles as ours,” said Abd Latif.

However, they denied speculation that they are driving a wedge between Snap and the other Pakatan parties, namely DAP and PKR, in the seat allocation discussions.

“Whatever negotiations they are having, we are not going to interfere,” said Rashid.

In the meantime, they attempted to play down Selangor party coordinator S Kottapan’s claims that they are intending to contest in all 56 state seats in the next general election.

“Well that depends on the political situation, and the seats. The main thing for us to get winnable candidates, and the areas where we can make the biggest impact.

“We don’t want to go into an area blindly and lose our deposit,” said Abd Latif.

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