Shamsul should be rewarded like Farhash, says ex-minister after revelation of Anwar's intervention on election night

Former PKR MP Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin's revelation that he was instructed by party chief Anwar Ibrahim during the last general election not to seek a recount of the ballot papers in Bagan Datuk - where he was leading against Ahmad Zahid Hamidi before the Umno president was declared the winner by a razor-thin majority - has been described as serious by former minister Zaid Ibrahim.

Zaid, a former PKR member himself, wondered whether Anwar and other party leaders would defend Shamsul after he was attacked by Umno leaders, including Zahid's daughter Nurulhidayah Ahmad Zahid, for casting doubt on the results.

"I would like to know who in PKR would defend Shamsul to support his right to reveal this, or will they condemn him?" Zaid asked in his podcast.

"The prime minister instructed a candidate from his own party not to proceed with the recount. It could have led to his party candidate's victory, but instead he stopped it. This is a serious revelation," he added.

In a recent podcast interview, Shamsul, who is currently Anwar's senior political secretary, recalled how the PKR leader called him on election night and instructed him not to seek a recount in Bagan Datuk, after what he said was an unusually long counting process that ended with Zahid being declared the winner by just 348 votes.

He said he was determined to win and was ready to demand a recount of the ballot papers as there were nearly 800 spoilt votes.

But Shamsul said Anwar had advised him not to do so.

"He (Anwar) called and said that'I am impressed with your hard work in Bagan Datuk' and so on. 'But Sam, we want to form a government. Zahid has already issued a letter to form a government," Shamsul said on the "Apa Cerita?" podcast.

Shamsul said he conceded defeat in Bagan Datuk because he wanted to put the party above himself.

"As I said before, in war you cannot have two generals. The general's order must be obeyed.

"Of course I was sad. We worked very hard and went all out. Surely we wanted to have our personal victory," he added.

Zahid was instrumental in helping Anwar fulfil his ambition to become prime minister by delivering him the support of 30 BN MPs after the 15th general election resulted in a hung parliament.

Shamsul's remarks were condemned by Nurulhidayah, who labelled them "stupid" and the result of a "hallucination", while Umno Supreme Council member Azalina Othman Said chided him for questioning Zahid's victory.

"Shamsul should accept the decision and use the Election Commission channel to raise objections to show his commitment to political integrity and professionalism," Azalina said.

'Shamsul demoted'

Zaid said if it was true that Shamsul had made such a personal sacrifice by not seeking a recount that could have tilted the result in his favour, Anwar should have rewarded him for it.

He argued that Shamsul deserved similar treatment to Anwar's former political secretary Farhash Wafa Salvador, who was appointed chairman of tycoon Vincent Tan's 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings just five weeks after Anwar took office, apart from acquiring major stakes in companies.

He recalled that even Dr Mahathir Mohamad had appointed Shamsul as deputy minister during the previous short-lived Pakatan Harapan government.

Zaid said the position of political secretary was not highly regarded in Malaysia.

He added that in contrast, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail was given the important post of home minister despite losing his seat.

"If I were the prime minister, I would reward my friend who has made many sacrifices.

"When it comes to a government post, it should be a minister's post as he was a deputy minister.

"If Dr Mahathir could appoint him as deputy minister, why can't the PKR president appoint him as minister? It's his own party. This is not right," Zaid said.

Shamsul's revelation confirms a series of reports about Anwar and Zahid's secret alliance long before GE15.

Two weeks before polling day, Perikatan Nasional (PN) secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin said Anwar had wanted to make Shamsul a sacrificial lamb by sending him to Bagan Datuk to run against Zahid, adding that this was done because Shamsul was considered part of "Azmin's team", referring to former PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali, who was expelled from the party in 2020.

In October 2020, Zahid sent a letter to the palace expressing his support for Anwar as prime minister in the hope of toppling the Muhyiddin Yassin government in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In April 2021, a leaked recording of a phone conversation between Anwar and Zahid provided the clearest evidence that the two leaders had planned to set the tone of the just-concluded Umno general assembly, where they could be heard exchanging pleasantries over the way delegates accepted Zahid's proposal to cut ties with Bersatu, then in a coalition government with Umno.

The move was in stark contrast to the Umno Supreme Council's stated policy of rejecting Anwar and DAP in any future political arrangement.