Corrected on 2 Dec 2008 at 11.00am
PETALING JAYA, 1 Dec 2008: The fate of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Bandar Baru/Kulim Member of Parliament (MP) Zulkifli Nordin, who stormed a Bar Council forum in August, now rests in the hands of the party’s political bureau.
Dr Syed Husin Ali
Disciplinary committee head Dr Syed Husin Ali said the committee has concluded its long-running investigation and the findings have been passed to the PKR political bureau, which is headed by de facto party leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, to make a decision.
However, he declined to reveal the findings made by the disciplinary committee.
Syed Husin said the political bureau will make a decision pending a meeting between Anwar and Zulkifli.
“Anwar has asked for more time so that he can meet Zulkifli,” said Syed Husin.
Zulkifli is presently on one-month leave, explained Syed Husin. As such he will be exempted from party-related activities until he returns.
(Corrected) 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.
The PKR deputy president had also said the possibility of Zulkifli defecting to Umno had no bearing on the disciplinary action that is pending against him.
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”.
Zulkifli himself has dismissed talk that he will soon switch camps.
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, together with others from PKR, PAS, Umno and 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”. 
