PETALING JAYA, 31 Oct 2008: The possibility of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)’s Zulkifli Nordin defecting to Umno has no bearing on the disciplinary action that is pending against him for storming the Bar Council forum on conversion in August, said PKR disciplinary committee head Dr Syed Husin Ali.
Syed Husin said the committee would not be influenced by such matters when it came to making a decision on Zulkifli, the Member of Parliament for Bandar Baru/Kulim.
“No, it does not come into consideration,” he said, when asked whether PKR was afraid to take action against Zulkifli for fear that he would defect to Umno.
Zulkifli has dismissed talk that he will soon switch camps.
However, rumours about a possible defection remain rife, especially as he continues to court trouble by making controversial statements, including ticking off Pakatan Rakyat parliamentarians for “insulting Islam”.
Asked whether Zulkifli’s relationship with the PKR leadership had soured with the latest developments, Syed Husin said the lawyer was still attending PKR activities and meetings.
“He attended a meeting yesterday,” said Syed Husin, who is also the party deputy president.
Syed Husin earlier told The Nut Graph that the committee will come to a decision on the case in November. Though investigations into the matter have been ongoing since September, no verdict has emerged so far.
On 9 Aug, Zulkifli participated in a 300-strong demonstration against the Bar Council forum Conversion to Islam: Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution, Subashini and Shamala Revisited.
The demonstrators caused the forum to end prematurely.
The participants in the demonstration included members from several political parties such as PKR, PAS and Umno, as well as various Muslim non-governmental organisations.
Zulkifli received a show-cause letter from the party on 7 Sept and was asked to explain his actions.
But the controversial MP, who was detained in 1998 under the Internal Security Act, remains unapologetic for disrupting the forum.
On 19 Sept, he was quoted on the front page of Utusan Malaysia as saying that he would not apologise “for leading the peaceful demonstration”. 
