YOURSAY | ‘Like Rafizi Ramli, Syed Saddiq should clear his name before contesting in Muar.’

Welcome to the 'court cluster', Umno leader tells Syed Saddiq

Proarte: Pakatan Harapan cannot be seen to be bending over backwards to save the career of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad's protege, who was never supportive of PKR president Anwar Ibrahim's candidacy to be PM after the fall of the Harapan government in 2020.

Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman's comments towards Harapan when it was at its weakest point were hardly flattering and he was courting Warisan chief Mohd Shafie Apdal and supporting his bid to be PM instead of Anwar.

This was seen as a betrayal by Harapan but then Syed Saddiq was a “poodle” of Mahathir so it was not surprising.

Syed Saddiq jumped ship to form Muda and Muda's role, I believe, is to be a spoiler and challenger to Harapan, which is unnecessarily and perplexingly overplaying Muda's political support amongst the younger demographic.

Muda is a mosquito party and will remain as such if Harapan does not "sub-contract" the youth vote to Muda. This is utterly foolhardy as Muda brings nothing to the table for Harapan.

None of the seats which Muda wants to contest can be won on its own. It needs Harapan's support to survive and the burning question is why Harapan is shooting itself in the foot by giving Muda a free ride.

For me, Syed Saddiq is talented and does have the gift of the gab but he is opportunistic and arrogant, no doubt due to him being the blue-eyed boy of Mahathir.

Mentor Mahathir is increasingly being seen to be the hidden hand behind the Sheraton Move. Syed Saddiq was even spotted amongst the Sheraton traitors, even posing with them in media photoshoots. Clearly, his loyalties were divided.

We saw Syed Saddiq's shocking U-turn over his criticism of the fugitive Indian preacher Zakir Naik who insulted Chinese Malaysians by calling them "guests" in Malaysia who should return to China if he is asked to return to India to face corruption and incitement to religious hatred and terrorism charges.

Virtually, the next day Syed Saddiq invited Zakir to his home for a cosy meal in the full glare of the media. He showed himself to be an unprincipled politician who was willing to sell out the Chinese community in Malaysia if it meant furthering his political ambitions.

Syed Saddiq's decision to stay with the opposition has been fraught with suspicion of his motives. There is distrust of Syed Saddiq and I believe Harapan is making an error of judgement by overplaying the former's importance.

He has been rightly humbled and is coming to Harapan with his "begging bowl" vying for seats to contest with Harapan's support.

Let us make no mistake, at this stage Syed Saddiq is Muda and Muda is Syed Saddiq. Why must a suspect individual like Syed Saddiq be given winnable seats which Harapan contenders have a better chance of winning because they belong to much more established parties like DAP and PKR?

These two parties have a track record and made political sacrifices to make BN, PAS and now Perikatan Nasional accountable to the nation.

Muda is untested and has pretentiously claimed to have the youth vote on its side. Has Muda not thought for a moment that Harapan parties have youth wings themselves? Muda does not bring anything to the table for Harapan and it seems there are other reasons why Harapan, namely DAP is keen to engage and support Syed Saddiq and Muda.

I believe there are internal political reasons within Harapan which is why Muda is given undue attention.

For me, Syed Saddiq should be told to join DAP and contest under its ticket for the Muar seat, otherwise either DAP or PKR should contest in it. Muda is not part of the Harapan coalition and therefore it owes Muda nothing.

Now, with the High Court saying there is a prima facie case against Syed Saddiq for corruption for which he has been called to defend himself, clearly Syed Saddiq is a political liability. As such, I believe Harapan should not touch him with a barge pole.

The Muar seat may become vacant if he is convicted therefore Syed Saddiq should be told to clear his name before he can be considered for a seat in future but for now, the door is closed for him and Muda.

Harapan cannot afford to have its name tainted so soon after forming the government by having one of its MPs being dragged through court having to defend himself against serious corruption charges.

The optics will look terrible for Harapan which is trying to start with a clean slate and gain the trust of the people after the 2020 betrayals and collapse of the fledgling Harapan government.

Constitutional Supremacy: Umno supreme council member Puad Zarkashi, there is something called integrity.

Your Bossku (former premier Najib Abdul Razak) had gone up all the way to Federal Court and lost. He never gave up his seat. In fact, he had filed action to attend Parliament after losing his Federal Court hearing. Thus, why the double standards?

Syed Saddiq has every right to be allowed the same due process of law. He has not even been convicted and thus no one has any right to say otherwise. He has every right to contest elections.

Puad is shameless as for his own cluster group they want maximum leeway. Even after Bossku lost his final appeal at Federal Court, he filed an application from prison to be allowed to attend Parliament.

Whereas, charges faced by Syed Saddiq are technical in nature. He did not sign any cheques or took money for himself. In fact, those who signed cheques are not investigated.

Syed Saddiq, the law says one is allowed to exhaust all remedies in law to prove one's innocence.

Syed Saddiq, prepare to defend your seat in Muar. The rakyat knows your contributions, especially during floods. Marshall all your efforts to win the seat.

Apanama is Back: Syed Saddiq should follow the example of PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli, who had stayed clear of previous general elections and is only now fielded in Pandan.

Will Syed Saddiq also resign from his president’s post of Muda and defer from standing in Muar? Even though he claimed that this case is political prosecution or persecution, it is for the court to prove it. A prima facie case had been established and you need to enter your defence.

Firebrand0123456789: Three big names are now in the court cluster list: Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, DAP national chairperson Lim Guan Eng and Syed Saddiq.

Let us wait and see who among the three will be the first to announce to sit out GE15 until they clear their names. Knowing Umno and its culture, Zahid surely will not be the one.

DAP and Muda have been very vocal in denouncing corruption and DAP have been consistent in calling for BN ministers who are facing court cases to step down… will Guan Eng and Syed Saddiq stand by their principle and sit out this GE, or are they going to unabashedly emulate Zahid?

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