KUALA LUMPUR: Ampang member of Parliament Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin has assured her supporters and voters that she was still serving the people despite having quit Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.
“Rest assured, I’m still here for the people, just as I have been for the past three terms,” she told a press conference to announce that she had joined Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) and would soon be officially appointed president-designate in a transition process.
Zuraida said she was open to completing her term as the Plantation Industries and Commodities minister if Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob agrees to it.
On whether she was also open to a PBM proposal to join the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, Zuraida said she was willing to do anything for the rakyat.
“I want to serve the rakyat no matter what, and that has always been my focus.”
PBM president Larry Sng earlier announced her membership and appointment during a press conference, adding that the party has decided it will work with BN and an official letter would be sent to BN shortly.
“Discussions are ongoing and on PBM’s side, we have decided we want to work with BN,” he said.
Sng, who is Julau member of Parliament, said the party will hold a special meeting to discuss the matter at length this week.
“The transition for Zuraida to take over as president-designate will take some time and we expect it to be completed by August.”
He said PBM received Zuraida’s application to join the party on May 26, and it was accepted on June 9.
“After a meeting with our political bureau and supreme council, we decided to appoint Zuraida as president-designate to continue our main ‘Reset Agenda’.
“We will amend the party’s constitution to ensure a smooth transition for Zuraida to be officially appointed president-designate,” he said.
PBM was founded as the Sarawak Workers Party.
Zuraida, who is linked to Penggerak Komuniti Negara, said all 50,000 members are now supporting PBM.
At the press conference, PBM also announced it has approved 15,000 new membership applications, with over 100,000 registered with the Registrar of Societies.