Gobala's two fat cheques got PKR guessing

Harakahdaily

KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 10: Even as he accused an absent Anwar Ibrahim of refusing to return one of his cars during a parliamentary session to debate the royal address yesterday, PKR's former member N Gobalakrishnan (right) has found himself in the centre of an allegation that he had received bribe worth RM1.4 million to quit the party last January.

Revealing the details, PKR secretary general Saifuddin Nasution questioned how Gobala could "suddenly" settle his company's land lease with Kumpulan Pertanian Kelantan Berhad, worth RM1,401,250, and urged tax officers to investigate.

Backing his claim, Saifuddin showed two post-dated cheques from Hong Leong Bank, one dated January 12, 2011 for RM700,000 and the other March 15, 2011 for RM701,250, both payable to Kumpulan Pertanian Kelantan Berhad.

“Between January and March 2011 was the height of attacks, threats and slanders from Padang Serai MP against PKR. At the same time, he found himself able to pay RM1,401,250 million for the land purchase,” he said, and added that Gobala's financial woes had not been a secret.

“Gobalakrishan had sold his own house, his wife’s bakery business and faced with all sorts of difficulties to pick up bills," said Saifuddin, adding that Gobala had however remained patient in facing the hard times.

However, Saifuddin (left) said Gobala showed his true colours three years after winning the Padang Serai seat on PKR's ticket, and his disgruntlement reached a peak after he was not given any lucrative post in state-linked cooperations.

Gobala, who was once a staunch supporter of Anwar following his sacking and incarceration in 1998, had been posting messages deriding Anwar and several other PKR leaders early this year. Gobala had demanded that the construction of a temple on the top of the Bukit Gasing green belt in Petaling Jaya be legalised, despite environmental concerns.

'Defections due to money'

Saifuddin said the spate of defections in PKR had been due to lucrative offers.

“Because of this offer, many succumbed. But they made the mistake of giving fancy excuses to justify their betrayal. The question is if Padang Serai Member of Parliament can settle a land payment worth RM1.4 million, how much in total did he receive?" he asked.

"And if that’s the price for Padang Serai MP, what’s the price for Wangsa Maju, Bagan Serai, Kulim Bandar Baharu, Bayan Baru and Nibong Tebal members of parliament?" he pressed on, referring to five other PKR elected representatives who had since left the party.

Meanwhile, Kapar member of parliament S Manikavasagam joined calls for the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission to immediately investigate Gobala over his "sudden" wealth.

Related:

Staunch supporter-turned-enemy continues attack on Anwar

Gobala attacks PKR leaders, urges to focus on poor

Letter: Gobala should avoid screaming on Twitter

Letter: Gobala's exit: Good riddance to bad performers

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