PETALING JAYA, June 26 — Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) president Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman today criticised the allied Pakatan Harapan coalition for reneging on its promises of reforms from last year’s 15th general election.
In a press conference this afternoon, the Muar MP justified his party’s decision to contest independently in the upcoming state elections by saying its allies appeared to have forgotten their election pledges now that they were in power.
“Enough with politics to scare the people, the politics of fear mongering should end. We should not be using fear-mongering tactics to justify incompetence, complacency, and arrogance.
“The reality is that if promises are fulfilled, reforms are implemented, power is returned to the people, and not taking people’s vote lightly, there is no need for Muda to contest,” he said at Muda’s headquarters here.
When asked whether Muda would consider an olive branch from PH, Syed Saddiq said that the party is tired of waiting and stressed that it was not just about the number of seats, but also the coalition’s apparent refusal to consider espousing new political narratives.
“You know, we have been hearing this ever since the election concluded. And to be honest, we decided it was no longer about seats.
“It is about policies. It is about fostering new politics. It is about changing the status quo. I mean, what’s the purpose even if you get a few seats, but in the end, people lose faith in the political system?” he added.
Earlier today, several PH sources reportedly said that Muda was set to position itself as the “third force” in the upcoming state elections.
Prior to that, Muda said it had identified potential candidates based on their strengths and potential for the polls.
Muda deputy president Amira Aisya Abd Aziz said the process was important to identify the states in which the party would be fielding candidates, especially those where it has a strong support base, such as Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Penang.
Muda applied to join the PH coalition before last year’s general election but has yet to be accepted as a formal member.
PH secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said in March that he had been “too busy” to evaluate Muda’s application letter.
