I’m a victim of double standard in Umno, says former de facto law minister
The Star Online
5 December 2008
PETALING JAYA: Former de facto Law Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim will not join any opposition party soon but does not rule out doing so later.
Zaid, who was sacked by Umno two days ago, said that for the time being he would concentrate on youth work through his recently set up myFuture Foundation.
Asked if he would consider rejoining Umno should there be a change of heart among the party’s leadership, his reply was a terse “No”.
He also said that he would not appeal against the decision or go to court to be heard as that would be a hollow victory if he won.
“It is obvious that I was sacked not because I had attended functions organised by the opposition parties, but more so because many leaders in Umno are not comfortable with my views and stand on many issues,” he told a press conference yesterday.
Zaid said he had expected to be disciplined by the party following harsh statements about him by several Umno leaders, but was surprised to be sacked instead.
“I am a victim of double standard in Umno. I have not been given the opportunity to be heard and neither am I aware of any specific violation that I had committed,” he said.
“I did not attend the DAP dinner nor PKR congress to provoke anyone. I was there on the invitation of friends only to listen.”
Abdullah, in announcing Zaid’s sacking, had stated that drastic action had to be taken against him because his transgressions were too serious and that the party must not be seen as practising double standards.
Zaid said he realised that he was just a “small guy in the party” – a term Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Aziz used – but asserted that even a small man had rights.
He said his only regret after spending 23 years in Umno was that all his good intentions had been misunderstood by his colleagues, especially on the issue of reform so that Umno would once again be a more inclusive and progressive party and in its approach in helping the Malays.
Asked if he felt betrayed by Abdullah who had handpicked him to be a Cabinet member after the March election, Zaid said he did not.
“Pak Lah is a nice man,” he said. “On his own I don’t think he would have sacked me. I think there are leaders in Umno who thought that I was about to join Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PKR de facto leader) or the DAP or PAS.”