KUALA LUMPUR: Bersatu has accepted Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan’s resignation as information chief effective today, said party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Muhyiddin said Wan Saiful made a verbal application to relinquish his post this morning, and would submit his resignation letter later today.
“After our discussion this morning, he agreed to give up the post, effective today.
“This does not mean we are saying he is guilty or not guilty, but just to set a standard as he is facing (court) charges. This will avoid any misconception towards Bersatu,” said Muhyiddin, who is also Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman.
Muhyiddin was speaking to reporters after attending the launch of the PN MPs’ Turkiye-Syria Earthquake Mission and Aid Fund at the Parliament building here today.
Muhyiddin said Bersatu appreciated the Tasek Gelugor MP’s gesture to give up the party post.
“This way we can face the rakyat on a policy of integrity. This is not to punish him, as he is resigning on his own accord. It’s very honourable,” he said.
Muhyiddin said Bersatu would soon appoint a supreme council member as the new information chief, which, according to him, came with a heavy responsibility, especially in the run-up to the six state elections due this year.
Yesterday, Wan Saiful had pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here to two charges of corruption involving RM6.9 million in relation to the Jana Wibawa project.
Jana Wibawa was an initiative launched by the Finance Ministry to help bumiputera contractors at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when Muhyiddin was the prime minister.
Earlier, when announcing his resignation Wan Saiful said it was up to the party’s leadership to make a decision on it.
“This decision is in line with the principles of integrity and fighting spirit that I have been upholding all this while.
“The position of information chief is an executive position in the party. So I intend to resign from this position because this is what I have believed in all this time until I can clear my name through the legal process,” he told a press conference at the Parliament lobby.
However, Wan Saiful stated that he would hold on to his position as a Bersatu Supreme Council member.
Meanwhile, he said he would not hesitate to take legal action against anyone who tried to defame him by equating him with other individuals facing court charges. – BERNAMA
