FORMER PKR vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin has been ordered to pay RM10 million for defecting from the party after clinching the Ampang seat for the third time in the 14th general election.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court made the decision against the former PKR vice-president this morning.

PKR lawyer Navpreet Singh confirmed judge Akhtar Tahir’s verdict during online proceedings.

“The court allowed the plaintiff’s (PKR) claim seeking for the defendant to pay the party RM10 million under the bond.

“The court found the bond to be a valid and binding contract. The court was of the view that the RM10 million was not disproportionate but a reasonable sum to act as a deterrence to party members from acting against the party’s interests, and that any less sum would not be a deterrence.

“Cost of RM50,000 was also awarded in favour of the plaintiff,” Navpreet told reporters.

Zuraida had lost her parliamentary seat to her former party colleague Rodziah Ismail during the 15th general election last year.

In March, Zuraida testified in the Kuala Lumpur High Court  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.

“I was in crisis mode and I did not have the opportunity to read or go through the contents of the document I signed,” she said. 

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 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.

“I signed the documents under compulsion without being given any choice, because I wanted to continue to serve the rakyat, especially those in the Ampang constituency,” she added.

Zuraida had testified in a legal suit initiated by PKR against her for leaving the party in 2020.

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 stated that the defendant agreed to pay the party RM10 million no later than seven days upon 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. –  June 23, 2023.