BALIK PULAU – Balik Pulau MP Datuk Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik has shared how he was confronted by a mysterious caller with an unknown number aking for him to cross over to the ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, with a promise of a full ministerial post.
“I cut off the caller who went by the name of Alif. The display on my cell phone was of an unknown number and I was offered the post of a full minister if I quit PKR.
“The caller said it was for the sake of the nation,” he told The Vibes.
The caller implied that it was a “durian” initiative, he added.
The Penang PKR chief said he thought of it as an insult as he hails from the Balik Pulau constituency where quality durians are grown.
He said that he then replied to the caller that he had chosen to remain with PKR due to the people. The call then ended abruptly, he said.
Bakhtiar said the incident happened weeks earlier, before Umno formally withdrew support from the PN government.
He said it was unrelated to the recent alleged attempts made to entice up to seven MPs from the Pakatan Harapan (PH) opposition coalition.
Bakhtiar was deputy minister of tourism, arts, culture and heritage under the PH government, which lasted from May 2018 to March 2020.
The PH presidential council had issued a statement today, asking the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate claims that at least seven PH MPs received dubious offers to cross over to PN.
According to the council, the MPs were Cha Kee Chin (Rasah), Khoo Poay Tiong (Kota Melaka), M. Kula Segaran (Ipoh Barat), Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (Kulim Bandar Baharu), Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (Setiawangsa), Azman Ismail (Kuala Kedah), and Chan Ming Kai (Alor Star). – The Vibes, August 8, 2021
