KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 ― Taking to Facebook tonight, Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng shared a personal handwritten note penned by his younger fellow lawmaker Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman to mark his birthday.

Lim who turned 60 yesterday said he was touched by the former youth and sports minister’s honest remarks, in which the latter admitted he once thought the older man was "the embodiment of evil”.

"Although he is less than half my age, Saddiq has proven himself to be a leader with integrity and intelligence,” the DAP secretary-general said on Facebook.

"I pray that the youths of this nation will be filled with hope and rise up to build Malaysia into "beacon of light in a disturbed and distracted world,” he added.

Lim said this is what former prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman would have envisioned for the country.

He also thanked the younger man for his gift from Sabahan art collective Pangrok Sulap.

In his letter, Syed Saddiq confessed that upon first entering politics, he had a negative impression of Lim.

The Muar MP said this was due to years of indoctrination and misshaped views of Lim and his family.

Syed Saddiq said he truly changed his mind after serving alongside the former finance minister in the Pakatan Harapan government, and once again in the Opposition.

Describing the past year as being tough, he pledged to stand side-by-side with Lim for the sake and love of Malaysia above all else.