The Kuala Lumpur High Court on Friday ordered former minister Zuraida Kamaruddin to pay RM10 million (S$2.9 million) to Malaysia’s ruling Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) for defecting from it, breaching a bond she signed five years ago.
Justice Akhtar Tahir found that the bond Datuk Zuraida signed on April 25, 2018, was a valid and binding contract.
“The RM10 million was not disproportionate but a reasonable sum to act as a deterrence to members from acting against the party’s interests.
“Any lesser sum will not act as a deterrence,” said Justice Akhtar.
He also ordered Ms Zuraida, who was PKR’s vice-president and a former three-term MP for Ampang, to pay RM50,000 in costs to the party.
Ms Zuraida was the housing minister under the Mahathir Mohamad administration between 2018 and Feb 24, 2020, and the minister for plantation industries and commodities under the Ismail Sabri Yaakob administration from August 2021 to November 2022.
Ms Zuraida said she will appeal against the court’s ruling.
“I will appeal. I have advised my lawyers to (do so),” she told The Star.
Ms Zuraida was MP for Ampang from March 2008 but lost her seat in Malaysia’s general election in 2022.
She had been among the 11 MPs who quit PKR in February 2020, leading to the collapse of the Mahathir-led Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.
After that, she joined then Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), before leaving for multiracial vehicle Parti Bangsa Malaysia.
PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail initiated legal proceedings against Ms Zuraida on behalf of the party on Sept 28, 2020, claiming she had breached the contractual bond by joining Bersatu.
During the trial in March, Ms Zuraida claimed she was “forced” to sign the bond documents, saying she was handed the papers on the eve of Nomination Day in 2018 without an explanation of the terms and conditions.
“What is certain is that I was not given any other choice apart from signing the documents,” news portal The Malaysian Insight reported her as saying.
“I signed the documents under compulsion... because I wanted to continue to serve the people, especially those in the Ampang constituency,” she said.
However, Justice Akhtar on Friday dismissed her explanation as baseless.
After the judge’s decision, PKR’s lawyer William Leong said the party will go after others who had defected.
“We used Zuraida as a precedent... With today’s decision, we can now sue others who left as well, and we will let the court process take its course,” Mr Leong told The Straits Times.
Describing the court’s decision as impactful, PKR’s information chief Fahmi Fadzil said its central leadership council may discuss legal action against former members who “betrayed” the party.
