[UPDATED] I’m still minister, let PM decide: Zuraida

KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin will leave her fate as cabinet member entirely to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, as Bersatu stakes claim on the position following her resignation from the party. 

Zuraida, who is plantation industries and commodities minister, said Ismail Sabri, as the head of the administration, will have the sole prerogative to make the decision. 

“It is the prime minister’s discretion. It is his prerogative to decide, so we have to wait for his decision,” she told a press conference after attending an event here today. 

Zuraida, who announced that she is quitting Bersatu on May 26 to join fledgling Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM), was asked to comment on her former party’s claim to her cabinet post and if she would insist on relinquishing her position if the prime minister wants her to stay on.

Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had previously said he would submit the name of a replacement candidate from the party to Ismail Sabri, insisting that Zuraida has been filling the seat under Bersatu’s cabinet quota.

On June 2, Zuraida had said that he will be meeting with the prime minister soon to discuss her position in cabinet, and that she would hold a special press conference sometime this week once a decision is made.

Ismail Sabri, on Sunday, said no date has been set for his appointment with the plantation industries and commodities minister and confirmed that until then, she remains as a cabinet member.

Speaking to the press today, Zuraida said she is currently on “standby mode” to meet Ismail Sabri and that she is most likely to attend tomorrow’s cabinet meeting.

“I haven’t received a date for the meeting yet. Last week, he told me it would be this week. It could be anytime, but I’m on standby.”

Asked if she would defend her Ampang seat in the coming general election, Zuraida said: “God willing. I am moving to a new party now, so maybe it will be easier to make a decision then.”

She has been Ampang MP since making her electoral debut in 2008, holding the seat for three consecutive terms, but had always contested under the PKR banner.

Zuraida, however, remained mum when asked about her potential role in PBM.

“There’s no discussion yet. It is in the process. Even my membership is not done yet.”

Zuraida was one of the 11 MPs led by Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali to quit PKR during the infamous Sheraton Move in February 2020, triggering the collapse of the then Pakatan Harapan government. – The Vibes, June 7, 2022