Don’t Fall for Syed Saddiq

Syed Saddiq Syed Abd Rahman’s latest round of attention seeking to win the hearts and minds of many seemed like a page from the same old book.

His most recent social media posts appeals have been nothing more than pure PR stunts, from criticizing the Muar District Office for “persecution” of MUDA’s relief efforts – which can’t be so far from the truth.

There are ways and methods to respect SOP especially during these difficult COVID times and it was necessary for the local government to take the necessary precautions to prevent COVID infections.

SOPs may be something strange for Syed Saddiq – especially when the MP was seen not adhering to SOP during the recent book launch of Kee Thuan Chye’s book, of which is being thoroughly investigated by PDRM.

Unsurprisingly, when he saw that the tides had turned against the government, Saddiq as recently as 25 November 2020, he took the opportunity to meet with Former Prime Minister Najib Razak. This was as if to ensure Najib’s support in shooting down the Budget bill, the same bill that he had so enthusiastically supported with Tengku Zafrul.

One of his previous forays into TikTok, highlighted the insensitive things not to say to members of our Indian communities, sparked many discussions online with many calling him out as a hypocrite.

While it is crucial that the video has managed to kickstart meaningful conversations with regards to racism, as members of society, we should also be vigilant in eyeing out politicians who are willing to use these conversations for his or her gain – such as our former Minister of Youth and Sports.

We all remember Dr Zakir Naik’s disparaging remarks against the Chinese and Indian communities just last year, where Syed Saddiq was quick to jump on the bandwagon as a hero defending the rights of Malaysian minorities. After Dr Zakir Naik’s questions on the loyalty of Chinese and Indian citizens of Malaysia – Syed Saddiq publicly stated that the fugitive preacher should be deported back to India.

Lo and behold, within two weeks, the former blue-eyed boy of Tun Dr Mahathir invited the preacher for a meal in his home and called for Malaysians to move on as Dr Zakir Naik has “apologised” for his remarks.

It is no surprise that many still remember such hypocrisy. At the time, Syed Saddiq was the leader of his former party’s youth wing, ARMADA. Likely in an attempt to appease grassroots supporters and put on a show – he did what he felt was needed to reinforce his position among BERSATU members, among other dubious action by the former Minister to secure his position.

Many people are right to call him a hypocrite. Following the kick, he received from BERSATU, Syed Saddiq has been working hard to court the minorities of Malaysia that he threw under the bus. This includes being chummy with the biggest party in Parliament, DAP, through various social media stunts as well as campaigning for them in the recent Sabah by-elections.

Bear in mind that it was as recent as this year that he publicly denounced several key members of the party for “pressuring” Tun Dr Mahathir to step down as Prime Minister, and hand over the baton to PKR President Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as promised.

Of course, it does not make sense for him to cater to the Malay nationalist voter base again as none of the main parties wants him in their fold. Appealing to the middle ground, and the urban and younger voters is his only choice left.

The willingness to u-turn quickly just paints the picture that he is a political chameleon with no real principles. It probably would not have mattered much if he did an excellent job as the Minister of Youth and Sports – alas he did not. Aside from lowering the voting age (which was wanted by both sides anyways), his tenure has been unremarkable at best.

Unfortunately, we see the same patterns with his new party MUDA. Despite having established themselves for months now, with many Malaysians signing up as members, the fledgeling party has no concrete policy plans and core principles to speak of. Worse still, no organisational structure has been announced – leaving many to wonder if it will just turn into an NGO at the end of the day.

It is time for Malaysians to put a stop to this. While his impacts are still limited today, Syed Saddiq – if given free rein to be the political chameleon that he is – may evolve one day into a gifted demagogue that may put many Malaysians worse off than where they started. Let’s deny him the opportunity.