KUALA LUMPUR – Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim has said he is ready to face potential expulsion from PKR for openly defending the right to express his thoughts, even in the face of possible disciplinary action.
In response to a stern reprimand from PKR information chief Fahmi Fadzil, Hassan openly acknowledged his preparedness for the party to initiate disciplinary proceedings against him.
Unfazed by Fahmi’s public criticism, Hassan, who joined politics in the 1970s, commented on the unprecedented nature of the reprimand in his four decades of political involvement.
“I officially became a party member 46 years ago in 1978 as a member of Parti Rakyat Malaysia. During that period of more than four decades, this is the first time I have been harshly reprimanded and publicly denounced on social media for the offence of expressing political thoughts and views. I am not discouraged,” he said in a statement.
Earlier, Fahmi – who is communications minister and the government’s spokesman – had warned Hassan against meddling in the internal affairs of other parties.
“I gave Hassan a stern warning. He should not meddle in the affairs of other parties. He’s a friend and someone I respect, but this approach is not helpful,” Fahmi said.
“If we do that, we give others the opportunity to attack. It is not my place to comment on any party, but I hope those in the Madani government will work together.”
Days ago, Hassan said removing Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi would allow his party to regain support from the Malays.
This led to Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Mohd Puad Zarkashi taking a swipe at Hassan, saying that the PKR man should question the performance of Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli and Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek.
“That is the problem with Hassan… he and several other PKR leaders lack self-awareness.
“What has Rafizi Ramli done for the people’s economy other than introducing the Central Database Hub?
“Don’t forget, the Sarawak premier also made negative comments about the education minister from PKR. Hassan should urge PMX (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) to do an evaluation on this”, said Puad in a Facebook post. – February 3, 2024