KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 — Following speculations, political analyst Wan Saiful Wan Jan confirmed today that he will be joining politics after leaving think tank Institute for Democratic and Economic Affairs last week.
In his column in English daily The Star, Wan Saiful said he has left his membership of Islamist party PAS, but did not say which party he is joining, which will be announced on Thursday.
“My intention with this switch is pretty straightforward. For many years I have been saying that our politicians must up their game and improve the quality of our political debate.
“Yet, as we get closer to GE14, things show no signs of improving,” he said, referring to the 14th general elections.
“At the very least, I want to be able to hold my head up and say that I am trying to reduce the hypocrisy,” he added.
Last week, IDEAS announced that Wan Saiful will be leaving the think tank he founded nine years ago. His position as chief executive officer will be replaced by research director Ali Salman.
Wan Saiful joined PAS in 1992 before becoming a lifetime member in 1997.
Several media reports have speculated that he will join Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, but Wan Saiful has not confirmed this.
