KUALA LUMPUR – PKR has been given the green light to challenge a court decision that drastically reduced the amount owed by its former vice-president Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin, for breaching a party bond from RM10 million to RM100,000.
The Federal Court today allowed PKR’s application for leave to appeal, meaning the case can now proceed to be heard in full.
The panel of three judges, Tan Sri Nallini Pathmanathan, Datuk Nordin Hassan and Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, also amended and approved one key question of law to be debated during the appeal, Bernama reported.
The issue centres on whether someone who signs a financial bond and admits they’ve received value in return can later ask the court to reassess what counts as “reasonable compensation” – especially considering the peculiar relationship between the parties involved.
The legal fight began in 2020 when PKR’s secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail sued Zuraida, claiming she breached a bond she signed before contesting under the party’s ticket in GE14.
Under the terms of the bond, Zuraida was required to pay RM10 million to the party within seven days if she resigned, joined another party, or became an independent MP after being elected on a PKR ticket.
Zuraida, the former Ampang MP, left PKR during the 2020 Sheraton Move. She later claimed she had been pressured to sign the bond just to be allowed to run under the party’s banner.
In June 2023, the high court ruled in PKR’s favour, with judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir declaring the bond valid and binding – and ordering Zuraida to pay the full RM10 million.
But on December 11 last year, a three-judge Court of Appeal panel led by Datuk See Mee Chun upheld the breach finding but reduced the amount payable to RM100,000, a decision PKR is now contesting.
In today’s hearing, PKR was represented by Ranjit Singh, William Leong, Navpreet Singh, Sakina Siraj, Chew Chun Man and Liew Hong Wei. Zuraida was represented by Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun, Nurul Najwa Zainuddin and Muhammad Firdaus Shaik Alauddin. – June 24, 2025