KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has denied claims that an opposition member of parliament was intimidated and threatened into supporting the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The deputy prime minister said there was also no discussion or meeting that had taken place between Kuala Kangsar MP Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid and the prime minister.
"The cabinet was informed this morning (about the claims). However, the Kuala Kangsar MP has not made any calls, met or let alone had any discussions with the prime minister about his support towards the unity government without him leaving his current party.
"Hence, the matter is entirely his own personal choice," he told reporters in Parliament after the tabling of the 2024 Budget.
Zahid said this when asked to comment on the claims made by opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin that Iskandar Dzulkarnain was pressured into supporting Anwar to ensure the unity government regained its two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
Hamzah had also claimed that on Oct 1, Iskandar Dzulkarnain was brought to meet with a senior officer from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) at a hotel in Damansara and was threatened with corruption charges, if he was unwilling to sign a pre-prepared media statement stating his support for the government.
The Larut MP had also said that during the recent meeting between Iskandar Dzulkarnain and Perikatan Nasional chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the former appeared distressed due to the intimidation he had suffered.
Yesterday, Iskandar Dzulkarnain had in a statement announced his decision to support the prime minister's leadership.
He had said the decision was made after examining the continuous complaints of the voters and the urgent need to deal with the rising cost of living faced by his constituents.
Earlier today, Home Minister and PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had also denied that Iskandar Dzulkarnain had been intimidated into supporting Anwar.
He said there was no need for the unity government to do so as they already enjoyed a comfortable majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
