A FORMER UMNO leader has heaped praises on Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman for making the decision to withdraw his support for the unity government and choosing to be an independent in the Dewan Rakyat.
Former UMNO information chief Shahril Hamdan said Syed Saddiq has shown more backbone than other senior politicians and added that although Syed Saddiq had been continuously attacked by Pakatan Harapan (PH), he had clearly shown his principles.
“For me, his stand, and the way he conveyed it, is based on his principles. Some will be cynical and say he is not principled, but he has more backbone than other senior politicians,” Shahril said in the newly released “Keluar Sekejap” podcast alongside Khairy Jamaluddin today (Sept 13).
“Whatever you say about him, at least he backed up his big talk.”
According to Shahril, the Muar MP’s exit will not have a huge effect on the unity government’s loss of its two-thirds majority, as he had said he will support any reform agenda that is good and has basis.
“Don’t use this as an excuse that he does not want to aid the drafting of new laws or amendments to the Federal Constitution. If it is good, he will support it.
“There is no need for him to sit on the government bench for good things to happen,” Shahril added.
Meanwhile, Khairy had slammed calls by PH leaders for Syed Saddiq to vacate his Muar parliamentary seat, saying that it is they who should seek a fresh mandate from the people for abandoning their election promises.
“Syed Saddiq is an MP who is sincere about PH’s policy platform, which is against cooperation with UMNO and Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi,” the former health minister said.
“Voters in the general election last year had backed PH primarily because of the coalition’s stand not to work with Zahid, whose corruption trial on 47 charges was suddenly halted following a decision by the government to apply for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA).
“People voted for PH in the last election because of Hoi Hoi Ya Hoi,” said Khairy, referring to the lyrics of a song targeting Zahid and other UMNO leaders facing charges, which had been part of PH’s general election campaign.
“So, Syed Saddiq is the only one from the PH group today who still adheres to the principle of rejecting Hoi Hoi Ya Hoi, while the others have all embraced Hoi Hoi Ya Hoi.
“Therefore, those who should resign and seek a mandate from the voters are those from PH, as they have violated their promise to the people,” the former Rembau MP said.
On Sunday (Sept 10), Syed Saddiq announced that Muda has dropped out of the unity government after publicly expressing dissatisfaction with the abrupt halt of Zahid’s corruption trial.
The party’s exit left the government without a two-thirds majority just a day after PH had restored the supermajority by winning the Pulai parliamentary by-election. – Sept 13, 2023
