'Sorry, I'm not a yes man' – Syed Saddiq

SHAH ALAM - The Malaysian United Democratic Alliance president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman says he is not a yes man who is willing to follow any orders for the sake of position and power to the point of losing his principles.

He said that he had joined politics to think about position or power contract, and it was better to remain in the 2020 government.

“Ministerial position was offered, when I rejected minister position, I was offered a government-linked company chairman position with salary more than Prime Minister.

“But I fight it and was threatened and brought to court. While others jump (on such threat), I do not.

“If I only think of negotiation only, it is better to stay ini the government, more comfortable.

“The power of negotiation and yes man is stronger, allocation is also higher – up to RM4 million,” he said.

Outspoken in his opposition to the discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) case involving Umno President Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Syed Saddiq said that he felt hypocritical if he remained silent when he saw something wrong with the current government's behaviour.

"In Parliament, I share the facts presented to us. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim himself acknowledged the pressure to drop these cases before the 15th General Election (GE15).

"He revealed that Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Najib Razak urged him to do so as a condition for their support in becoming the Prime Minister.

"However, after the election, the cases were repeatedly delayed, citing his role as Deputy Prime Minister and the need to attend crucial meetings.

"The prosecutor did manage to establish a prima facie case with sufficient evidence for a defence, but then the prosecutor was replaced, and the cases were eventually dropped," he told Sinar in an exclusive interview.

As a representative of the people, he said he could not remain silent. He pointed out that he even opposed his own party in fear there would be pressure to drop these cases and engage in political manoeuvring behind the scenes.

He found it unexpected that a government claiming to be pro-reform and for change would ultimately drop these corruption cases.

"My approach is firm - to consistently fight for the people's issues.

"I stood firm on this platform before the elections, campaigning against corruption and advocating for cases not to be dropped.

"Even though the top Pakatan Harapan (PH) leader campaigned vigorously to distance themselves from Zahid, I emphasised the importance of adhering to the legal system and the rule of law.

"However, it seems that things changed after the election, and some forgot the principles of our true struggle."

In his further comments, he believed he had remained on the same principled platform.

He said that Malaysian were discerning, and he was confident that as long as they stayed true to their path, things would work out positively.