KUALA LUMPUR – Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has confirmed the party’s decision to pull its support from the unity government and join the opposition bench.
In a Twitter post today, Syed Saddiq said that the move is a sign of protest towards the discontinuation of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s graft trial.
Confirming that a letter has been sent to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul on the matter, Syed Saddiq said that he will be holding a press conference at 8.30pm tonight to address questions over the move.
Syed Saddiq is Muar MP, and the party’s withdrawal of support has left the unity government one seat short of a parliamentary supermajority – posing a challenge for potential constitutional amendments.
In a video attached to his Twitter post, Syed Saddiq said that while the call had been a “tough decision”, the move was a necessary one, as the discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) granted to Zahid, who chairs Barisan Nasional (BN), has troubled Muda.
“This is a tough decision, but it must be done. The road ahead will be long and lonely, but worth it as Malaysians will always come first.
“The government’s act of dropping the 47 corruption charges against (Zahid) has complicated Muda’s (ability) to remain with the government.
“Who would have thought that it would be this so-called reformed government that would end up dropping corruption charges for the sake of power?”
Adding that Muda will continue supporting the government on institutional reforms for the public benefit, Syed Saddiq said that the youth-based party will now be an “opposition third force” which plays a check-and-balance role in Parliament.
Previously, Muda had threatened to pull its support from the unity government if no “further steps” were taken regarding Zahid’s DNAA.
The ultimatum sparked criticism from Pakatan Harapan (PH) component DAP. The party’s vice-chairman Nga Kor Ming rebuked Syed Saddiq for airing his discontent over the court’s decision in public, instead of engaging in internal discussions with unity government leaders.
In response, Syed Saddiq labelled DAP as “Zahid’s lapdog,” drawing further rebuke from unity government figures.
Earlier today, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke reminded Syed Saddiq that his win in Muar during last year’s general election was not “on his own merit”, as PH had backed his candidacy by campaigning for him.
“Syed Saddiq has an obligation to ensure that the votes he received (during the election) go to supporting the current unity government. So, I just want to remind him that he has responsibility too as his win was because of PH voters and support,” Loke said at the DAP annual conference.
Syed Saddiq won Muar last year with a 1,345-vote majority after polling 19,961 votes, while Perikatan Nasional’s Abdullah Husin received 18,616, followed by BN’s Mohd Helmy Abd Latiff with 14,581.
The Muar electorate consists of Malays (67.2%), Chinese (32.3%), Indians (0.3%) and those of other ethnicities (0.3%). – September 10, 2023