THERE are at least two factors which particularly made Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman being charged politically suspicious, said a political analyst.
Singapore Institute of International Affairs Senior Fellow Oh Ei Sun was responding to news that former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman had claimed trail to committing Criminal Breach of Trust (CBT) involving RM1 mil of his former party’s money.
“The first is Syed Saddiq’s generally fresh and untainted public image, which is in contrast to many other senior politicians well-known for their pilferage of public coffers who are never charged or even blatantly exonerated,” Oh told FocusM.
“The other is the observation that Syed Saddiq’s new party, MUDA (Malaysian United Democratic Alliance), appears to be gaining political momentum, which may be detrimental to the political interest of the powers that be.”
Amid the present fragmented political landscape in Malaysia where almost every parliamentary seat counts when it comes to forming the ruling coalition, any criminal charges brought upon high-profile political figures would inevitably be viewed by many as having been politically motivated to extract certain two political gains.
In fact, Syed Saddiq’s case is not an isolated one, and should be read as having formed a worrying trend since Lim Guan Eng’s being charged late last year, Oh opined.
“Broadly, it recalls the dark days before 2018 when trumped-up or at least strongly politically motivated charges were often brought against opposition politicians in order to retard their political appeals and popular support.
More specifically, it also heralds a more thorough breakup between the Tan Sri Mahaiddin Yassin and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad camps, as Syed Saddiq is widely viewed as being close to Mahathir politically.
“Mahathir is likely to harden his opposition to Muhyiddin in comparison with his enmity against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim,” Oh concluded. – July 23, 2021.
