Kamarudin: Decision to retire made before Muktamar

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Kamarudin Jaffar, who relinquished his PAS secretary-general post immediately after the party’s Muktamar, is not seeking reappointment.

Kamarudin said that even if the party leadership wanted to retain him in the post, he would have to decline.

“I need to spend more time with my family. My wife is not well,’’ he said Monday.

Kamarudin, however, said that he would remain as central working committee member as he was elected to the post by the delegates.

He also denied talk that he was stepping down because his close ally Datuk Husam Musa had lost in the race for the deputy presidency.

“My decision to retire was made even before the Muktamar. The outcome of the party elections has no bearing on my decision,’’ he said.

Kamarudin, 58, said party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang would be appointing a new secretary-general and other office-bearers soon.

He said major changes was likely in the new line-up of office-bearers and that he was “confident the party has enough capable leaders to be appointed to the posts.”

Kamarudin, who is also Tumpat MP, served as PAS secretary-general for two terms from 2005. PAS holds elections biennially