Gambar Hiasan
PETALING JAYA: PKR supreme council member Zaid Ibrahim has embarked on a mission to expose Umno's “kaki botol”, “kaki judi” and “kaki perempuan” – alcoholics, gamblers and womanisers.
Speaking to reporters at his residence in Tropicana here, the former law minister said he is set to open the can of worms on the Umno “hypocrites”.
"You cannot call me kaki botol and spare the other Umno leaders. We will expose this hypocrisy," vowed the prominent lawyer-turned-politician.
Promising to reveal their names, Zaid, with a twinge of sarcasm, called his tit-for-tat the “Let's get to know our ministers better” campaign.
“They have exposed me and all my shortcomings,” he said, referring to Umno's campaign against him during the recent Hulu Selangor by-election, where he was branded an alcoholic and gambler.
Zaid said he could accept the attacks if it were true, but not when the facts are distorted.
“The issue is that (the allegations were) twisted, calling me all sorts of names to influence the voters. That is not right. It's okay, the election is over but there are more to come.
"Since the people know me very well now, I hope they will also get to know their leaders better such as which casinos they frequent, and who are their mistresses,” he said.
This is not revenge
However, the Pakatan Rakyat troubleshooter claimed that he was not seeking revenge.
His campaign, Zaid explained, is to let the people know who are the good leaders in order for them to make the correct decision when choosing them.
Hinting that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's name could also be on the list, he said: “I am willing to be exposed if the allegations (against him) are true. So I hope Umno ministers and the prime minister are willing to be exposed as well."
According to Zaid, his campaign would be on a step-by-step basis after collecting the necessary dirt on these leaders.
The former Umno leader also saw nothing wrong in naming the “kakis”.
"What is wrong in naming them if we have proof, if we have information. That is the whole idea of knowing your leaders.
"What's there to be ashamed of? If (International Trade and Industry Minister) Mustapha Mohamed has a lot of shares in his wife's name, we will have to show-lah. But that is just an example," he smiled.
Responding to a question, Zaid denied that he would be stooping to the level of his opponents with this shame campaign.
"No, no, no. It is okay to know your leaders, but it is not okay to make false accusations. When you say their level, what level?
"When they exposed me it's okay, What's not okay, is the falsehood and the lies. For example (it was alleged that) I am a 'kaki judi'. I just owned one or two race horses in my lifetime. I was never a gambler, you can ask anybody.
"I don't go to casinos like them. But they portray me (like I do) and that is hard. If I am really a gambler, you should expose me. I cannot be a good leader if I am a gambler. I cannot be a good minister," he said.
"So it is not stooping to their level, that's not what I meant. We don't want to slander people, but the facts about your leaders, you must know, otherwise it's not a free country," he said.
Zaid also lashed out at former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad who had also lambasted the PKR leader's moral shortcomings in the run-up to the election.
When told that Mahathir had denied consuming alcohol, Zaid laughed. "Of course, he is a hypocrite, I am not. That is the difference. What (else) did you expect him to say?"
Zaid, who admitted to drinking in the past, and has claimed to have since repented, said that he did not consume anything more than what Mahathir and other Umno leaders did.
In Sunday's by-election, Zaid was defeated by Barisan Nasional's P Kamalanathan by a 1,725-vote majority.
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