PKR senator Syed Husin Ali today claimed that it was PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim who told him that former PKR MP Zukifli Noordin had sought payment to vacate his seat.

zulkifli noordin Testifying during a defamation trial against the now-Independent MP Zulkifli ( left ), Syed Husin said the payment was sought to make way for Anwar to contest.

“The person who told me about this was Anwar Ibrahim,” he said when answering a question from his lawyer at the Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning.

Syed Husin is seeking RM10 million in damages and costs from Zulkifli, Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd and Utusan Melayu chief editor Aziz Ishak.

In his statement of claim, Syed Husin said Utusan Melayu and Abdul Aziz had maliciously published a libellous statement against Syed Husin in an Utusan Malaysia article dated Nov 20, 2011 entitled ‘ Zul Noordin nafi dakwaan Syed Husin ’ (Zul Noordin denies Syed Husin’s claim).

According to Syed Husin, Zulkifli had published the same item on his blog in a post entitled ‘ Anjing-anjing Pencen ’ (Old dogs).

Syed Husin is also seeking an injunction to stop the defendant from continuing to publish the libellous statements.

The former PKR deputy president also testified that Zulkifli had sought a payment of RM60,000 to vacate his Kulim Bandar Baharu seat.

pakatan mega dinner anwar ibrahim 280912 He said that Anwar ( right ) had told the same thing to PKR political bureau members, and as such, he believed that Anwar was telling the truth.

He added that he trusted Anwar as they had known each other for a long time.

"He was my student, my detention mate and later, my leader...So when he said (Zulkifli sought payment) I believed him," he said.

'Zul lied'

Syed Husin, however, noted that the reason for the defamation suit was the "total lie" published by Zulkifli on his blog.

The political veteran claimed that he had never, as alleged in the blog, met with Zulkifli on Anwar's behalf to offer Zulkifli a post in a Selangor state subsidiary as reward for vacating his seat.

He said Zulkifli had also lied in saying that the former was promised a senatorship if he relinquished his deputy presidency in 2010.

Syed Husin added that the defendant's openness to the idea of vacating his seat, albeit with conditions, had given the public the wrong impression.

"To the public he will appear like an angel when he withdraws (from the seat)," he said.

Syed Husin is also represented by Latheefa Koya while Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin is representing Utusan and Aziz Ishak. Zulkifli is represented by Hasnal Rezua.

The trial before Justice Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera will resume on Nov 5.