Muhyiddin: Rahim must be vetted, no corruption or abuse of power allowed

(The Star) – Former Malacca chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik must undergo an extensive vetting process before joining Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), says party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Anyone wanting to join Bersatu “must not be involved in corruption or abuse of power,” he said.

Muhyiddin said this when asked about the bad blood between Rahim, PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

It was reported by news portal Malaysiakini that Muhyiddin said that Bersatu’s conditions for accepting defectors were in line with the Pakatan Harapan’s presidential council’s criteria for such defections.

He said that defectors would help Pakatan’s agenda in the Dewan Rakyat as legislative changes can only occur with a two-thirds majority.

However, he also said that Pakatan should convene a presidential council meeting to discuss the defections even though the issue had been discussed before.

In 1994, Rahim was investigated for the statutory rape of a minor while serving as Malacca chief minister.

However, the case was later dropped due to a lack of evidence.

Lim – who was the Kota Melaka MP at the time – was jailed for 18 months for accusing Rahim of the act and questioning the inaction in the case.

Rahim denied the claim and sued the DAP.

In 2011, Rahim was among three people who screened a video clip allegedly of Anwar engaging a prostitute. Anwar denied the accusations.