.jpg "Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz speaks during a press conference at the Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur January 12, 2021. u00e2u20acu201dPicture by Hari Anggara")
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 7 — Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said he was not the person who contacted several Opposition lawmakers with offers for them to defect to Perikatan Nasional.
The Umno lawmaker insisted that his photograph was maliciously used as the contact image for the phone number used to send the text messages to the group, according to The Vibes news portal.
“It is fake. The person uses my photo, acts as me, calling and messaging these MPs, even asking them out for tea,” he was quoted as saying.
“Someone is misusing (my photo). It is not my number. These people have all sorts of tricks up their sleeves. They are crooks.”
Earlier today, DAP MP M. Kulasegaran claimed he was offered cash, a Cabinet post and additional incentives to defect and support the PN government.
Kulasegaran said the offer included a reference to “RM30 durian”, which he interpreted as code for RM30 million.
Other DAP MPs have also reportedly been offered similar offers, such as Kota Melaka’s Khoo Poay Tiong and Bandar Kuching’s Dr Kelvin Yii.
Earlier this week, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said his party was withdrawing support for PN with immediate effect and that as many as 11 of its lawmakers have formally rejected Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Since then, two Umno leaders have resigned from Muhyiddin’s Cabinet.
Muhyiddin has pledged to call for a confidence vote during the September parliamentary meeting to prove he still possessed the simple majority needed to remain in the position.
