LEGAL action will continue against a Penang lawmaker despite him recently joining Bersatu, with the party’s senior leaders saying that membership in the organisation was not a get-out-of-jail-free card.

They said disciplinary action will be taken against Shabudin Yahya, a former Umno MP who defected to Bersatu, if he was later convicted for two cases of fraud, abuse of power and negligence at a Penang-based government agency.

They also said they had no idea how Shabudin, a former chairman of Penang Regional Development Board (Perda), managed to slip through the party’s vetting process for taking in ex-Umno leaders and members.

This is since Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin himself had assured the public that Umno members who applied to join the party would be submitted to a criminal and corruption background check and a review of their past political activities.

Shabudin, who left Umno some months ago to become an independent MP, announced that he and six others had officially joined Bersatu on February 12.

Three days later, current Perda chairman Haniff Khatri Abdulla said two civil suits were filed against Shabudin and four ex-directors over losses the agency suffered from the sale of two parcels of its land.

Shabudin and the four had allegedly overseen the land sales.

Haniff Khatri said the agency was continuing its civil action against Shabudin despite the fact that he had joined a government party.

“We will not retract our suit against him whether he is with Umno or Bersatu,” Haniff, a Bersatu member, said.

In its suit, Perda claimed that both parcels of land in Nibong Tebal, Penang were sold below market value resulting in a combined loss of RM19.9 million.

Haniff said the suits, filed at the Penang High Court this week are to recover the lost money.

In response, Shabudin said he will cooperate with the investigations and said that the transactions were done “above board”.

Bersatu supreme council member Rais Hussin said Shabudin’s and any other Umno leader’s membership into Bersatu will not absolve them from past wrongdoings.

“Membership in Bersatu is not a get-out-of-jail free card,” Rais said, referring to a popular political term taken from the American board game monopoly.

“Every member will be bound by the rule of law and it will not be applied sparingly like in the past,” Rais said in a veiled reference to Umno, which was accused of shielding its leaders from criminal probes when it was in power.

Another supreme council member, Muhammad Faiz Na’Aman, who heads the integrity unit in the party’s youth wing, said he did not know how Shabudin managed to slip through the vetting process.

“We will wait for the outcome of the court cases. If the court rules that Shabudin is guilty then the party should take disciplinary action against him.”

Like all Umno members and leaders, Shabudin will be barred from contesting for any of the party’s posts until after the 15th general election, said Faiz. – February 17, 2019.