‘PM’ mentioned in ‘buying MPs’ video

PAS MP Khalid Samad claims that the term 'PM' is mentioned in the video and thus wants Najib Tun Razak to explain. 

KUALA LUMPUR: PAS MP Khalid Samad today alleged that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak may have been linked to alleged attempts by “BN agents” to buy over Pakatan Rakyat MPs.

Releasing another teaser video in his third press conference on this issue, Khalid alleged that the latest part showed one BN agent saying: “Then directlah! Direct PM” when negotiating the conditions of a defection.

Khalid said the BN agent who mentioned this was former PKR member and Kita member Zamil Ibrahim during a discussion he had with two representatives of a PKR MP.

Asked if “PM” could mean other things, Khalid said: “Project Manager? I think there is no other interpretation to it. It is up to Najib now to clarify. We must wait and see [his response].”

For the past two weeks, the Shah Alam MP had shown parts of a full video clip showing two “BN agents” attempting to strike a deal with a couple, said to be representatives of a PKR MP.

Khalid claimed that this was part of the attempt to buy at least 15 opposition MPs, mainly from PKR.
It was claimed that the agents offered RM2 million to the MP to jump ship and also offered government contracts as an additional inducement.

One of the two agents was allegedly Zamil.

Zamil was heard mentioning the name “Zahrain” in the conversation but it was not known if he was referring to Bayan Baru MP Zahrain Hashim. The latter, however, has denied the allegation.
“Wangsa Maju” was also mentioned in the video, though it was also not known if it referred to its MP Wee Choo Keong.

The full clip was said to be part of a three-hour-long video and was shot in 2010 at a restaurant in the Klang Valley.

At the press briefing today, Khalid said that the other BN agent in the video was also a former PKR member.

He said the individual was also a leader of Jaringan Melayu Malaysia. FMT is withholding the individual’s name until a response from the individual is obtained.

Khalid also showed a short one-minute clip from the same setting where he alleged that Zamil said, in Bahasa: “I am also from PKR. My friends… Sala… I mean… Sat.. Sallehuddin with all the reports… after that and this Shamsul Iskandar, Jonah and many other friends… sometimes we meet and we talk including Dato Rashid Din Merbuk. I feel that it’s about 31 now, I think now more than half… Sani… Abdullah Sani, ini apa Amran, Ajiz Ketereh, ini semua tidak akan disenarai semula…”

Merbok MP: I met Zamil

Khalid said the clip showed the modus operandi of the BN agents in identifying those who might be unhappy when they were not nominated for election and might be interested in jumping ship.

“It is not just a random chat, but a systematic and orderly effort to identify their candidates,” he added.
Meanwhile, Merbok MP Rashid Din, who was also present at the press conference, admitted that Zamil had met him.

“I don’t have a video. He (Zamil) is a good friend of mine. He was even my personal assistant for a few months. Then later I found out who he is. I don’t know where he gets his income,” Rashid said.

“Anyway, he did come to me and made an offer if I wanted to leave the party. I told him, jokingly, if you have RM50 million, then we talk. We are still friends, we drink coffee and watch football,” he said.

Khalid also alleged that PKR leader Mustaffa Kamil Ayub had told him that he was also previously approached and was offered to switch camp.

“Mustaffa said the same thing during a ceramah with me that when he lost in the PKR deputy presidency, someone asked him to form an NGO and that individual even said that he can directly see Najib.

“Democracy is now being challenged by money politics. This is the culture of ditry politics. It puts into question the reasons for having a Parliament. What’s the point of it? Even if your coalition wins, you lose your candidates. So, to some extent, everybody may have his price.

“Please think, what would happen to democracy if you have a government working with capitalists?” asked Khalid.

Zamil had reportedly said he was “most likely” the man in the video but denied ever being a BN agent employed to court opposition lawmakers.

On Zamil’s defence, Khalid said: “He said he is not an Umno agent but, at the same time, he has met many PKR members who complained to him. It seems like he is a counsellor, or a psychiatrist. I think there must be something.”

Khalid said that Zamil’s claim that he had even met him (Khalid) in a Chinese restaurant in Kajang was not true.

“He says that when I was suspended of my positions by Hasan Ali [former Selangor PAS commissioner], I went to see him. I don’t know him and I’ve never met him. He is just making things up. It is his tactic to frighten me. I am not afraid. If anything, just expose it,” he said.

Meanwhile, DAP MP Charles Santiago said that since Najib’s name had been mentioned repeatedly, he must come out to say that he was not involved in such efforts.