Azmin on Halili defection: Nothing explosive

Umno is desperate. Every single person who leaves the party (PKR) is being welcomed (with open arms). They can have these sort of characters.

We have to move on. What's important are those members who are still in the party. PKR leaders are committed to the cause and will continue with the present struggle. This should be the priority.

I don't think that it is a fair statement to assume Dr Halili left because he was not selected. We gave him an opportunity to contest under the Keadilan banner in 1999. Of course he lost. But he should have continued to engage with the people of Hulu Selangor, which he did not.

It was difficult for us to (select him as candidate) because he had distanced himself from the people of Hulu Selangor (HS) over all these years. It would not be fair to voters in HS... Even (after) he lost, he did not spend time to engage with people on the ground.

The loss is not as 'explosive' as what the Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had claimed it to be. We will have to go down and explain to the voters as to our position and our objectives. Locals, those who know Halili, knew he has distanced himself from them over the years.

Video by Hazlan Zakaria.