Khaidhirah Abu Zahar, deputy chairman of the state’s investment, industry and technical & vocational education training committee, said they were unaware that Jailani had joined the opposition party until it was revealed by PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan yesterday.

“He (Jailani) has been sitting in the same seat since last year,” she told FMT.

“Since he was no longer an exco member, he still sat in the government bloc. He may have sat near the opposition, but he was not treated as an opposition member. We never treated him like an opposition member,” she added.

Jailani was chairman of the state’s tourism, heritage, and culture committee during the administration of then Melaka chief minister Sulaiman Ali from March 2020 until March 2023.

His move to PAS was announced by Takiyuddin at a press conference in Parliament yesterday.

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

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

On Sept 9 last year, the Umno disciplinary board recommended that Jailani be suspended from the party for six years. He was previously reported to have been accused of sabotaging the party by attending Perikatan Nasional’s candidate announcement event for the Simpang Jeram by-election in Johor on Aug 23, 2023.

Asked about PAS’s challenge for the Melaka state assembly speaker to declare the Rembia seat vacant, Khaidhirah said the decision of the Islamic party to accept Jailani into its fold exposed its true nature.

“Are they trying to prove that they can grab the seat for themselves without regard for due process?” she said.

She also asked why Jailani’s PAS membership was only announced now.

“We did not know he had been a PAS member since last year… that’s why we only suspended him without revoking his membership,” she added.