Rembia rep dodges queries on delayed unveiling as PAS member

August 7, 2024

Rembia rep dodges queries on delayed unveiling as PAS member

GUA MUSANG: Rembia assemblyman Jailani Khamis has declined to respond to queries about his PAS membership, particularly why it was only announced a year after he crossed over from Umno to join the Islamic party.

Jailani, who was in PKR before joining Umno in 2021, instead deflected reporters’ queries on the matter by criticising Barisan Nasional’s alliance with Pakatan Harapan.

“People question why I only announced joining PAS now (after a year since joining the party).

“What we should (instead) be asking is why (Umno president) Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and (PKR president) Anwar Ibrahim were holding talks about an alliance for years (before the unity government was formed),” he told FMT.

The former Melaka executive councillor was met by FMT while campaigning for PAS’s Rizwadi Ismail for the Nenggiri by-election.

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Last month, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan announced that Jailani had joined PAS in June 2023 and did not need to vacate his state seat as he had become a party member before Melaka’s anti-hopping laws were enacted the following month.

PAS vice-president Amar Abdullah later said the Islamic party had delayed announcing Jailani’s membership because of “technical factors”, but did not elaborate.

However, in the Melaka assembly, Jailani had continued to sit among the government benches, even during the latest state assembly meeting from July 9 to 11.

Umno has since issued Jailani a letter of demand seeking RM100 million in damages and compensation for defecting to PAS.