JOHOR BARU, Aug 19 ― Amanah deputy president Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub today rejected persistent rumours claiming he and five fellow MPs will be crossing over to the ruling Bersatu.
The 58-year-old Pulai MP has been repeatedly linked to rumours that a Pakatan Harapan (PH) lawmaker in Johor will be switching allegiances since June.
“I am not an item to be bought and I state my loyalty to Amanah and PH,” Salahuddin told a news conference in Taman Desa Kempas here.
He declined to comment when asked if he had been offered money to switch sides, although he affirmed that he had been asked to join the Perikatan Nasional coalition in the past and declined it then.
Salahuddin first publicly denied he and two other Amanah MPs will join Bersatu on June 5 as reported by a local website.
He called the news “cheap slander” by those who have vested interests by the latest political developments in the country.
The other lawmakers rumoured to leave Amanah for Bersatu were listed as Datuk Hasanuddin Mohd Yunus (Hulu Langat), Dr Hasan Baharom (Tampin), Datuk Mohd Anuar Tahir (Temerloh), Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad (Kuala Selangor) and Datuk Hatta Ramli (Lumut).
Formerly minister of agriculture and agro-based industry, Salahuddin also pledged on behalf of the other Amanah MPs that they will remain with PH.
“I will fight for you and will fulfill my obligations by the rakyat for the rakyat. I won’t cross over,” he said.
He called the rumoured crossover a desperate and deliberate psychological war on his party.
“As we know, Pakatan Nasional is now desperate to gain the support of MPs as they have only a slim majority during a recent vote on the Parliament Speakers’ role and another on additional mosques in the Dewan Rakyat.
“Therefore, they are very worried about the situation and this psychological war was deliberately made to supposedly gain support from us,” said Salahuddin.
The Simpang Jeram assemblyman stressed that Amanah state lawmakers will not join Bersatu as rumoured.
