Umno assemblyman joins PAS

Rembia assemblyman Jailani Khamis is not bound by the state’s anti-hopping laws, claims PAS.

(FMT) – Rembia assemblyman Jailani Khamis, who was suspended from Umno, has joined PAS.

PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said Jailani would not need to vacate his state seat as he was accepted into the Islamic party in June 2023, before Melaka’s anti-hopping laws were enacted the following month.

Takiyuddin said Jailani applied to become a PAS member on June 10, 2023, before Melaka’s anti-hopping law was passed at its state assembly on July 31.

“Therefore, Jailani’s move from Umno to Perikatan Nasional (PN) does not run afoul of the state’s anti-hopping laws,” he said in a press conference at the Parliament building today.

Jailani’s defection to PAS brings the number of opposition members in the Melaka assembly to three.

Jailani was first elected on a PKR ticket in the 14th general election in 2018, winning the state seat with a 1,814-vote majority.

In March 2020, he was among four former Pakatan Harapan assemblymen in Melaka who helped topple the Adly Zahari-led state government, as PN and Barisan Nasional (BN) formed the state administration.

After quitting PKR that year and remaining as an independent assemblyman, he was made an executive councillor in the Sulaiman Ali-led Melaka government before officially joining Umno in January 2021.

He then defended his Rembia seat on a BN ticket in the November 2021 state election with a 860-vote majority against four other contenders.

He was appointed to a second term as executive councillor as Sulaiman was made chief minister again.

However, after Sulaiman resigned as chief minister in March 2023 and Melaka Umno chief Ab Rauf Yusoh took over the post, Jailani was dropped from the state executive council in a reshuffle.

He then declared that he did not support Rauf as chief minister and was spotted attending PN’s unveiling of its candidate for the Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections.

Jailani was issued a show-cause letter for this and eventually suspended as an Umno member.