Zaid To Khairy On Being A “Pro Party Hopper” – I Have No Money

“I don’t have the money people think I do. I am not the son in law of a prime minister.”

Twitter/YouTube

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Former law minister Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim has hit back at former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin for calling him a “professional party-hopper” or in other words, a political frog.

I don’t have the money people think I do. I am not the son in law of a prime minister.
Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim

In a 12 minute long video uploaded on his official Twitter page, he said the above as a reference to his own party known as the People’s Welfare Party or Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (KITA) which eventually crashed after a year due to the lack of funds.

Jawapan saya ke Khairy pt.1 pic.twitter.com/0GjUGgkQnI
— Zaid Ibrahim (@zaidibrahim) June 26, 2023

During the Keluar Sekejap podcast show on Friday, Khairy accused UMNO Supreme Council (MKT) members Datuk Isham Jalil and Zaid of engaging in actions that undermined, demeaned, and criticised the judiciary.

Khairy further pointed out that Zaid had portrayed UMNO as lacking seriousness in demanding a pardon for former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and had made no effort to persuade the public regarding the significance of the royal pardon.

In Khairy’s view, these actions amount to an assault on the judiciary.

He emphasised that when the Prime Minister declares that there is no issue, that should be the end of the matter.

Additionally, Khairy also questioned the need for continuous attacks on our nation’s judicial institutions, which undermine and belittle our judiciary.

For me, this is an attack on the judiciary. When the PM states that this is not a problem, the story ends there. Why should there be continuous attacks on our country’s judicial institutions, disputing, belittling our judiciary?
Khairy Jamaluddin

Zaid also pointed out that he has always been an advocate when it comes to reforms and changes that will work in favour with the country.

I have always spoken about reforms and changes for the betterment of the country. When I did not see any improvements made by the parties that I was in I moved to PKR. And when that goal was also not met in PKR, I had to come up with my own party. I then went into DAP but found them to be the same.
Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim

Furthermore, he pointed out that former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad too had jumped parties at least three times in his tenure as a minister.

Just because we politicians change parties, it does not make us “professional frogs”. It just means we are looking to reach a political goal that we want.
Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim

He also noted that he has no idea why Khairy would bear any negative feelings towards him.

Zaid then suggests that these ill feelings could be because he (Zaid) has been advocating for the release of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak who is currently serving his 12 year term for graft over funds linked to state fund 1Malaysia at the Kajang prison.

Khairy pointed out that I had insulted the court and the judiciary system of Malaysia without stating the exact reason for his comments
Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim

Zaid stressed that in his 40 year tenure as a known figure in the law sector, he has never once made a fool out of the judiciary system of Malaysia.

I have never said anything that could disrespect or make the court of law look small and insignificant. If I have said anything that goes against the court of law, they have the power to arrest me for contempt of the law or court. But no such thing has happened.
Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim

Moreover, Zaid added that Najib would not be the only one who has sought a pardon from his crimes.

Naming a few, he mentioned the late Datuk Mokhtar Hashim, who was a Malaysian politician who served as the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports back in 1980 up till 1983.

He was later convicted for the 1982 murder of a rival politician, Negeri Sembilan Assembly Speaker Taha Talib, but the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

He was ultimately granted a royal pardon in 1991.

Zaid also pointed out that our current prime minister himself was granted the royal pardon in 2018.

No one has asked for the validity of these royal pardons.
Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim

He also added that there will always be a root cause or reason to these royal pardons and that is something that people can only wonder about.

He also reiterated that he was not a Najib supporter but someone who stands for transparency and truth.

I would just like to know why he (Najib) should not be pardoned. I understand that there are alot of reasons why but there is no need to hide. Just be open with the rakyat.
Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim

In the end of his video, Zaid added that Khairy should stop talking nonsense if he hopes to become Malaysia’s next prime minister.