SEBERANG JAYA: Penang Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) chairman Datuk Marzuki Yahya will continue with the petition to recount the votes cast for Tasek Gelugor parliamentary seat in the 14th General Election.
He said he would not withdraw the petition even if the current Tasek Gelugor member of parliament Datuk Shabudin Yahaya joins Bersatu.
“Till today there is no application from Shabudin and honestly I have no idea if he will join Bersatu or not.
“Even if he joins Bersatu, I will still proceed with the petition and will not withdraw it,” he said when met after Semarak Makanan Tradisi Pulau Pinang-Johor programme here today.
Last month, Federal Court has ordered the Tasek Gelugor election petition filed by Marzuki to be remitted to the Election Court in Penang for a full hearing.
Marzuki lost the contest for the Tasek Gelugor parliamentary seat to Shabudin of Barisan Nasional in the 14th General Election by a slim majority of 81 votes.
He filed the petition on June 12 and named Shabudin as the first respondent, the Tasek Gelugor polls returning officer as the second respondent and the Election Commission (EC) as the third respondent.
Meanwhile, he said that he would not reject an application by Shabudin if the Tasek Gelugor MP wanted to join Bersatu.
However he said Shabudin had to explain why he had decided to quit the party.
“It is his personal right to join any party, however he should clear the air why he did it.
“We do not have any problem accepting him but his application needs to be filtered first,” he said.
NSTP reported that six more Umno members of parliament (MP) announced to leave the party recently.
They are Hulu Terengganu MP Datuk Rosol Wahid, Mersing MP Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad, Larut MP Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, Sabak Bernam MP Datuk Mohamad Fasiah Mohd Fakeh,Tanah Merah MP Datuk Seri Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz and Shabudin.