Maverick party leader Zulkifli Noordin today walked out of the PKR disciplinary board meeting in protest of the presence of non-Muslims on the panel. Zulkifli said that the panel should be all Muslim because one of the charges he faced is related to the 'Allah' issue. His demand for an all-Muslim panel was rejected by the panel members. He subsequently walked out of the meeting.
According to him, the panel was made up of one Muslim, two Christians and one Hindu.
The panel members had apparently told him that they cannot replace themselves with others because the power to appoint the panel lies with the party supreme council. Hence Zulkifli called on the supreme council to appoint a new panel before next Tuesday. He said if the party rejects his demand, "I would have to resign."
Zulikifli claimed two Chinese members on the panel were Christian activists. “How can I get justice if the panel is not all-Muslim? Justice should not only be done, it should be seen to be done." He stressed that while he respects the non-Muslims sitting on the panel, justice demands that the accused be tried by his peers, in this case Muslims. Zulkifli charged that should the hearing continue and his objection dismissed, then PKR is a party which does not respect Islam and Muslims. "I call on the party leadership to dissolve the disciplinary board."
'Don't play with my religion'
Zulkifli said he had earlier sent three letters to the board stating his objection to the presence of non-Muslims on the board, but he did not receive a reply until today. He stressed that the only issue that will force him to quit the party is religion. “Don't play with my religion, I will not compromise." Asked whether he is still loyal to the party, Zulkifli said that he would be giving the party a chance to set up a new disciplinary board. “This means that I still have faith in the party.” Zulkifli said that he will exhaust all party channels in seeking justice before making a decision on whether to follow three of his parliamentary colleagues to quit PKR.
The disciplinary board is meeting to determine the fate of the errant Kulim Bandar Baru parliamentarian. 
Zulkifli had arrived at the PKR headquarters in Kuala Lumpur 30 minutes earlier on a Modenas motorbike wearing his trademark white 'kopiah' and white shirt. PKR disciplinary board had on Monday postponed its hearing of the case against Zulkifli in order to consider a number of objections raised by the errant party leader. Zulkifli had raised eight objections, among them, that PKR practises double standards because party colleagues Wee Choo Keong and Zaid Ibrahim were not hauled up by the disciplinary board.
courtesy of Malaysiakini
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