Rashid said PAS took the seat during the final meeting and disregarded a prior agreement signed among Perikatan Nasional component parties during seat allocations.
Under the original agreement, Kapar had been allocated to Bersatu.
“In that meeting, nobody heeded my words, and they made a drastic decision without any consideration that Bersatu should be contesting in Kapar,” he told a press conference today.
“I tried my best to prevent the seat from being given to PAS because it was likely that henceforth, PAS would demand the same seat, thus weakening Bersatu’s control over it.”
The former Selangor Bersatu chief claimed that there may have been some political manoeuvring behind the decision for the polls in November 2022, which further prompted his decision to back menteri besar Amirudin Shari last Wednesday.
In GE15, the Kapar parliamentary seat was won by PAS’s Dr Halimah Ali, who contested on a PN ticket. She defeated Abdullah Sani of Pakatan Harapan by almost 12,000 votes in a seven-cornered contest.
Earlier today, Rashid was reported to have claimed that Selangor Bersatu was controlled by a cartel, led by people who joined the party “just days” before the state election last August.
He said it was one of the reasons why he decided to back Amirudin.
Rashid also said his position as an assemblyman remains unaffected as the recent amendment to the Bersatu constitution is still pending approval from the Registrar of Societies.
“In my opinion, the party’s decision to amend the constitution is for the future and safety of Bersatu. The amendment cannot be applied to those (who switched support) before that (the amendment taking effect),” he said.
At an extraordinary general meeting on March 2, Bersatu members voted to adopt an amendment to the party’s constitution that will invalidate the party membership of an MP or assemblyman who does not abide by the party’s position.
The proposed amendment is in response to the six Bersatu MPs who pledged their support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
They are Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan), Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi (Tanjong Karang), Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal (Bukit Gantang), Zahari Kechik (Jeli), Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang), and Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar).