FORMER PKR vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin testified in the Kuala Lumpur High Court today that she was forced to sign a RM10 million bond with the party in order to stand in the 2018 General Election.

The former Ampang MP said she was given the document on the eve of nomination day without an explanation on the agreement’s terms and conditions.

“It was in crisis mode and I did not have the opportunity to read or go through the contents of the document I signed,” Zuraida said in her witness statement today. 

Zuraida, who contested in Ampang under the PKR banner in 2018, said she was told to put her signature down on some documents in order to stand under the party’s ticket. 

She said she thought these were normal documents giving her consent to use the party’s banner.

“What is certain is that I was not given any other choice apart from signing the documents.

“At all material time, I signed the documents under compulsion without being given the real choice, because I want to continue to serve the rakyat, especially those in the Ampang constituency,” she added.

She said this while testifying in a legal suit initiated by PKR against her for leaving the party in 2020.

The party is claiming that she had breached the bond by leaving and wants her to pay a penalty of RM10 million.

Zuraida, however, claimed that the party had sacked her.

“I had heard about my termination, as well as that of other friends from the party, on February 24, 2020.

“I subsequently read about it in the media on the same day.

“I would like to stress here that I only made the announcement to resign from PKR after the party announced in the press that I was terminated,” she said.

PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail sued Zuraida on behalf of PKR on September 28, 2020.

In the statement of claim, Saifuddin said Zuraida executed a bond where she was bound to pay the party a sum of RM10 million in accordance with the terms and conditions that had been set.

The conditions of the bond included the defendant agreeing to pay the party RM10 million no later than seven days upon the occurrence of such events as the resignation of the defendant from the party or joining any other political party or being an independent elected representative after the defendant had won the election on a PKR ticket.

The statement of claim also said Zuraida announced her resignation from the party without relinquishing her Ampang MP elected post on February 24, 2020.

He said Zuraida, together with the other MPs in Bersatu, Barisan Nasional, PAS and Gabungan Parti Sarawak then formed a new bloc known as Perikatan Nasional.

Zuraida claimed the lawsuit was “an absurd claim to court” and “utterly frivolous”.

High Court judge Akhtar Tahir fixed June 23 for decision. – March 30, 2023.