Former Penang Deputy Chief Minister 1 Quits PKR, Joins Umno

KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 1 (Bernama) -- Former Penang deputy chief minister 1 Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin announced that he was leaving Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) to join Umno.

He made the announcement in front of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is also Umno president, at a function with the Silat Seni Gayung Association in Ampang, near here.

Mohammad Fairus then handed his Umno membership application form to Najib.

Earlier in his speech, Mohammad Fairus, said his decision to quit PKR was because he had lost confidence in the party leadership, especially on matters concerning Islam and the Malays.

"I see that the PKR leaders cannot uphold the sovereignty of the Malays and sanctity of Islam. I am also disappointed with the way PKR handles the issue on the use of the word Allah," said the former Penanti assemblyman.

Meanwhile, Najib said Mohammad Fairus' decision to quit PKR shows that other leaders were losing confidence of the party leadership.

Najib said the action of Mohammad Fairus who was a senior PKR leader and who had held a senior post in the Pakatan Rakyat ruled Penang, was a good example.

"From what I gather from him speech is that he has lost confidence in the PKR leadership and that PKR had failed to protect the fundamental policy of harnessing the true values of Islam," he said.

-- BERNAMA