KUALA LUMPUR – As Pakatan Harapan (PH) faces even more possible defections, the presidential council confirmed today that “poaching” attempts were made to woo PKR vice-president Datuk Xavier Jayakumar, among others.
Xavier told The Vibes: “No comment,” before any question could be asked.
Fellow party member and Kangar MP Noor Amin Ahmad said attempts were made to get Xavier to defect, as mentioned by the presidential council today.
“Yes, at the Pakatan Harapan presidential meeting today, it was mentioned that Xavier was approached.”
Asked if Xavier will be leaving PKR, Amin said he does not know.
Meanwhile, Putatan MP Awang Husaini Sahari of PKR has rubbished allegations that it was Xavier who enticed him to cross over.
Awang Husaini said he has been receiving calls from individuals who were not Xavier.
“They were just some random calls by unknown individuals asking me if I’m interested to cross over. I immediately said no.”
Awang Husaini added that he was approached by two “agents” who were not linked to Xavier or his team.
When asked if these agents were connected to an influential person, Awang Husaini said: “I believe so.”
A PKR leader told The Vibes that Awang Husaini had been complaining about such calls before Julau MP Larry Sng left PKR.
Earlier today, the PH presidential council slammed Perikatan Nasional’s tactics of using enforcement agencies to intimidate opposition MPs to get them to defect.
The council said attempts were made against DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and his wife Betty Chew, Sng, and Tebrau MP Steven Choong.
Sng and Choong defected last weekend, declaring themselves government-friendly independent MPs. – The Vibes, March 5, 2021
Additional reporting by Jason Santos
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