KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 — Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman asserted today that he told former Bersatu chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that Malaysians’ welfare should come before the pursuit of power.
Syed Saddiq, who is Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) Youth chief, said this on Facebook.
“Rakyat has to be prioritised, Not political power struggle. The rakyat is in power, not the chess player of power,” he said today.
Syed Saddiq became the youngest minister when the Pakatan Harapan coalition (PH) defeated the Barisan Nasional coalition in the May 2018 general election, while Dr Mahathir became both the country and the world’s oldest prime minister following the 2018 national polls.
Syed Saddiq’s party was speculated since yesterday to be making moves to form a new coalition government with other political parties including BN lynchpin Umno. This hinges on having a simple majority in Parliament or at least 112 MPs in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat.
Today, Dr Mahathir resigned as the prime minister and PPBM chairman.
Dr Mahathir had also been PH chairman, but Bersatu announced that it has decided to leave the coalition.
Aides to Dr Mahathir said he and several party leaders were also leaving Bersatu.
Following Dr Mahathir’s resignation as prime minister and with PH losing its simple majority as 11 MPs led by ex-PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and PPBM ditched the coalition, some PH politicians including Dzulkefly Ahmad who was health minister have started saying their goodbyes in what they view as the end to their ministerial careers.
