Rembia rep brought 'bankruptcy' upon himself, says Puad

• UPDATED 8.20PM | Added Ahmad Maslan’s comments.

Umno supreme council member Mohd Puad Zarkashi has slammed Rembia assemblyperson Muhammad Jailani Khamis for accusing the party of trying to bankrupt him by demanding he pay RM100 million for defecting to PAS.

Labelling Jailani as someone with “no class”, Puad said the turncoat lawmaker had brought “bankruptcy” upon himself.

“The Rembia assemblyperson claims that Umno’s demand of RM100 million is intended to bankrupt him.

“He is the one who bankrupted himself,” Puad (above) said on Facebook today.

He clarified that Jailani signed a statutory declaration before being nominated in the Malacca state election in 2021 but later chose to hop parties.

“So (Jailani has to) bear with the consequences. He (Jailani) asked ‘how do I feed my children?’

“He has never had enough to eat. That’s why frogs like to jump for survival.

“He came from Umno, then he joined PKR and then became an independent representative. (PAS secretary-general) Takiyuddin (Hassan) then announced that he was a PAS member,” Puad said.

Another supreme council member Ahmad Maslan similarly dismissed Jailani’s statement as an “excuse”.

“We provided lawyers before they signed the letter, and we also provided a video to help them understand the terms before signing.

“His claim is just an excuse and lacks solid grounds,” Bernama quoted him as saying.

Umno members wishing to contest as election candidates are required to sign a contract, which stipulates that those who go against the party’s decision must relinquish their membership and pay RM100 million as compensation.

Status as state rep unknown

Jailani’s status as a Malacca assemblyperson is still unresolved after he joined PAS about three weeks ago.

Takiyuddin claimed the move did not affect Jailani’s position as an assemblyperson because it was done before Malacca enforced its anti-party-hopping law.

Malacca state assembly speaker Ibrahim Durum had given Jailani a 14-day notice, with Aug 1 being the last day to formally explain his decision.

RM100m demand

While campaigning for Perikatan Nasional candidate Mohd Rizwadi Ismail in the Nenggiri by-election in Gua Musang yesterday, Jailani was quoted by Malaysiakini as saying that Umno wanted to bankrupt him through the RM100 million demand.

“I joined PAS, I was threatened with an RM100 million lawsuit, they (Umno) want to bankrupt me.

“How do I feed my children?... but this is a matter of principle and values,” he said during a ceramah last night.

On Aug 3, BN chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the coalition served Jailani with a letter of demand following his move to join PAS.

Zahid said it was the party’s first step to seek RM100 million in compensation from Jailani.

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