KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — Muar MP Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman has insisted that the national roadshow he was slated to join is not held by Perikatan Nasional (PN), even as his involvement was announced by its chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Speaking to the press, the former Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) president said he welcomes a neutral non-partisan platform to address national issues.
“When we champion the people’s issues, it goes beyond political party lines and is not about Muda or PN and neither is it about Syed Saddiq or Muhyiddin Yassin,” he said in a live-streamed press conference.
Syed Saddiq pointed out that any effort to address the public should be a multi-partisan initiative that includes civil society that champions the public, with the former youth and sports minister saying he is open to highlighting public issues and reforms.
“However, it must be done for the interest of the people and not political parties,” he said.
Syed Saddiq said discussions of such issues should not only be restricted in the Parliament.
“For political parties, I believe we can find a common point in coming together to address such issues,” he said.
His office later clarified that Syed Saddiq was adamant that the nationwide tour is not organised by PN, calling it a multi-partisan "people's tour" instead.
This was despite Muhyiddin saying on Saturday that the opposition coalition will conduct a roadshow dubbed “Jelajah PN” nationwide starting sometime after the fasting month of Ramadan this year.
He had then revealed that Syed Saddiq will join the programme due to the latter being “pro-PN”.
Speaking to the PN Representatives' Convention 2024, Muhyiddin said the programme aims to listen to the complaints of the public and what role can PN play to ease their burden.
Yesterday, Muda clarified that it will not participate in PN’s nationwide tour, with party secretary-general Amir Hariri Abd Hadi saying the party had never made any decision or discussed the matter.
Syed Saddiq said today he would discuss the matter with his party first before joining any such event, after he was contacted by party leadership following Muhyiddin's announcement.
“I’m still a party man, so I will discuss this matter with the leadership first before deciding on whether to join the roadshow,” he said.
In November last year, Syed Saddiq said he had stepped down as Muda president following his conviction for corruption charges.
Syed Saddiq was formerly the Youth wing chief for Muhyiddin’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.
