Former Bersatu member Khairuddin Abu Hassan said he would apologise to chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad for leaving the party.

He said he did not expect his departure three days ago to cause a stir and open the party to attack, and he would meet the former premier in Putrajaya later today to apologise over the matter.

“I am just an ordinary Bersatu member, so when I decided to leave the party, I didn’t think there would be any impact,” he told reporters when met outside the Bukit Aman police headquarters today.

He said it is unfortunate that he is widely perceived as being close to Mahathir, and claimed that he is actually no different from any other person who fights alongside the former premier

Khairuddin was at Bukit Aman to show support for former finance minister II Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, who was called in for questioning here.

He told reporters that although he has left the Bersatu, he still fights for the party’s cause.

Khairuddin added that he merely needed to distance himself from party work and focus on litigation, especially charges of financial sabotage against him that is still pending in court.

He said this was why he initially declined to join Bersatu despite playing a key role in founding the party.

“I want to focus on litigation. I want to resolve all the issues that I am now facing in court.

“However, when I was pressured by friends, comrades, and so on, I tried joining. When I joined Bersatu as a Bersatu member, I’m trapped, because I had to travel all over the country almost every day to give talks, campaign, and all that.

“So I didn’t have time. As long as I don’t leave, I would be asked to give speeches and so forth,” Khairuddin said.

Once the litigation is over, he added that he would give consideration on whether or not he needs a political platform to continue his struggle.

For the time being however, Khairuddin said it should not matter whether or not he is in Bersatu as long as they share the same goals, and he would continue to assist the party from outside.