An MP from PAS has revealed supposed evidence of a BN attempt to lure a PKR parliamentarian from the opposition coalition, over concerns of repeat attempts in light of the coming general election.

Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad played a four-minute audio recording, accompanied by grainy still pictures from the full three-hour video, for reporters at his Shah Alam office this evening.

The video shows five men - two BN representatives and their driver, and two representatives of the PKR MP - negotiating over a price, according to Khalid.

NONE However, he declined to reveal the identity of the MP or show more of the video, but explained that the MP had not left Pakatan and that more would be revealed next Tuesday.

The video was taken about a year ago at a restaurant in Lembah Klang and allegedly shows the MP’s representatives negotiating in Bahasa Malaysia with the two supposed BN representatives, who were said to be from NGOs.

They rejected the initial RM2 million offer as insufficient and attempt to drive up the price, to which the alleged BN negotiators claim they were only earning a small commission on the deal.

Also mentioned in the recording were Bayan Baru MP Zahrain Mohamed Hashim and Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong, two former PKR parliamentarians who quit the party to become independents in 2010.

Khalid explained that the MP in question knew about the plans to record the meeting, and that the representatives seen in the video were instructed to negotiate over the sum of money offered.

He also mentioned he would lodge a police report on the matter, but said that it was not the focus of the event.

In addition, Khalid claimed that BN had set its sights on approximately 15 Pakatan representatives that the ruling party considered could possible be bought over.

“This is Malaysian politics... (But) they failed,” he said of the recording.

Bid to undermine voters' confidence in Pakatan reps

Khalid explained that the ruling coalition intended not only to bolster their numbers in Parliament, but to also undermine the confidence of voters in Pakatan representatives.

NONE In particular, they were targeting PKR politicians as they considered the party the weakest link in the opposition pact.

If PKR was seen to have many turncoat MPs, then BN’s hope was that the other opposition parties would attempt to reduce PKR’s share of seats and trigger infighting within the group, said Khalid.

“They will get a national budget of RM200 billion (if they win)... what is RM2 million?” he asked.

Khalid also commented on Unisel’s PTPTN loan freeze, slamming BN for being “willing to sacrifice the future of students” for the sake of discrediting Pakatan’s free education policies.

However, he added, such tactics no longer worked and would only serve to boost the opposition’s chances in Selangor.

He predicted that Pakatan would have a better showing in Selangor in the coming general election, expressing confidence that they would increase their haul of seats from 36 to over 40.

Still, he hopes that “sanity will prevail” and that PTPTN will soon reverse its decision to halt giving loans to Unisel students.

VIDEO l 28.15 mins

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