KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: A prominent politician joined the ruling party Wednesday after quitting the opposition, providing rare good news for Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi since his party suffered shock election losses in March.
Ezam Mohamad Noor, who resigned from opposition stalwart Anwar Ibrahim's party in June 2007, appeared alongside Abdullah to announce he was joining the United Malays National Organization party.
Ezam is a former UMNO member who played a crucial role in helping Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, establish their People's Justice Party, or PKR. The party was created after Anwar was fired by then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in 1998 and arrested amid allegations of abuse of power.
"He (Ezam) wants to come back to UMNO. I accept him," Abdullah told reporters as a smiling Ezam stood next to him.
Ezam, who was PKR's youth chief before quitting, claims that many party supporters have grown disenchanted with Anwar, a former deputy prime minister under Mahathir.
He said the party's main problem is that it has stopped focusing on the concerns of ordinary members, and control of the party is concentrated in the hands of "an inner circle of the elite at the upper level."
Ezam's defection, while providing good news for UMNO, is unlikely to cause a dent in the PKR, which is at its height of popularity after the March 8 elections in which the ruling National Front coalition suffered stunning losses. UMNO is the dominant member of the ruling coalition.
The PKR-led three-party opposition alliance boosted its seats in Parliament from 19 to an unprecedented 82, depriving the National Front of a two-thirds majority for the first time in 40 years.
Anwar and the growing disenchantment with Abdullah's government has been credited with the opposition resurgence.
Following his arrest by Mahathir, Anwar was convicted of corruption and sodomy — in trials he claimed were orchestrated by his political enemies to curtail his political ascent — and sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison. Anwar was released in 2004 when Malaysia's highest court overturned the sodomy conviction.
Ezam claims there is "dissatisfaction with the highest leadership" in PKR since Anwar was freed from prison.
Anwar has not commented on Ezam's decision.
The deed is done, Ezam rejoins Umno(MalaysianInsider) KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 — The New Straits Times called it the RM64,000 question in an article on Monday: will former Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) youth chief Mohamad Ezam Mohd Noor rejoin Umno?
The question was finally answered this afternoon by no less than the prime minister himself. Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also president of Umno, welcomed Ezam back to the party today.
In a short press conference at his office in Parliament, the prime minister jokingly asked Ezam if he was joining Umno for life this time when the former PKR leader handed him his party application.
While he declined to speak to the press, Ezam was beaming happily next to the PM throughout the press conference. On whether Ezam was offered any posts in the party, the PM said no and that Ezam had also not asked for any.
And when someone asked how Umno could take Ezam back as he had been highly critical of the party in the past, the PM said, "Mungkin dia insaf (he has repented)."
As for the other questions -- Will Ezam be contesting in the party elections at the end of the year? What can he bring to the party this time round? What is his agenda? – well, only time or the man himself can tell.
Ezam will be holding a press conference tomorrow where we are sure he will do more than just smile.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, meanwhile, has also welcomed Ezam back to the fold.
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