Zul Nordin defends Lunas state assemblyman

Lunas state assemblyman Mohd Radzi Salleh (picture), who has quit PKR to be an independent, may be facing a barrage of criticism from the Pakatan Rakyat but maverick PKR MP Zulkifli Nordin is defending the defector. The Kulim Bandar Baharu MP has even asked his PKR colleagues not to be too critical of Mohd Radzi Salleh.

The state assemblyman has suddenly found himself turned into an incompetent and lazy elected representative overnight. His former comrades are probably saying that he has been bought over. PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar described Radzi as a liability and that his departure was a necessary cleaning-up process.

But Zulkifli has blogged that Mohd Radzi had worked tirelessly when he was state exco member in charge of tourism. Zulkifli has revealed that the reason for Radzi's decision to quit was his unhappines over the direction of Pakatan Rakyat, particularly the DAP's role in Kedah. Others believed he wasn't happy with talk that Anwar Ibrahim wanted him to quit his seat for a forced by-election.

Zulkifli said Mohd Radzi wanted to see Muslim unity be given greater emphasis. Zulkifli also said Radzi's decision to leave PKR must be respected. Zulkifli isn't likely to get much admiration for his latest posting. In fact, there could even be speculation as to where this controversial lawyer-politician could be heading next.