KUALA LUMPUR – While local politics still relies on personalities to draw in votes and gravitas, ultimately the nation should vote for a coalition that offers the best means to improve the country, said Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.
For Syed Saddiq, a coalition that is able to present a strong leadership line-up and a clear vision of what it intends to do if it were to take Putrajaya would possess the best chance of bringing structural change to the country.
Personalities definitely sell and win elections, but having a clear vision is what will allow us to build our country to become a developed country.
“So I think the combination of both. Instead of looking at one personality, I think for the next election, whether it is the opposition or the government, they must present a team of leaders, so it’s not just Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (for the opposition), but it should be a team of 10 to 15 leaders.
“Same goes for the government. I’m not sure who will be leading – whether it would be Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob – but it should also be 10 to 15 leaders.
“Why does this matter? Because I think the public deserves to know the team. You can have the best prime minister in the world, but the team (could be) highly incompetent. It’s very hard to move the country forward,” he said, following a recent podcast session with The Vibes.
Learning from his experience under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration, the Muar MP said it is imperative that these personalities must also agree on a common vision or risk a fractious and fragile political coalition.
“Personalities may disagree on many things and it could lead to huge discord, which will lead to the breakup of the government, not just for PH.
“Now we saw how Bersatu, PAS and BN got together at the breakup is fairly obvious, but having a clear vision of how you’re going to take the country forward should be the ultimate unifying factor that drives us forward.
“I think that’s how we build a strong country,” he said.
‘I’ve always seen PKR as an ally’
Heading into the coming general election, Syed Saddiq said it will be the toughest yet for the opposition coalition as it remains splintered while dealing with a lethargic and apathetic electorate.
Muda also had its fair share of tensions with PH’s lynchpin PKR, especially during the Johor state election, with members from each party taking potshots at each other.
However, the Muda president again stressed that PKR remains an important ally as the opposition consolidates itself to face BN and Perikatan Nasional.
“If you notice when there are potshots, I take full accountability and then concrete actions are taken. Case in point, during the Johor state election, my social media admin posted something. I didn’t blame my admin. I took full responsibility and apologised publicly and privately.
“The reason I share this is that you need to show leadership in dealing with situations like this.
There is a difference between constructive criticism and just outright sabotage. And as I mentioned, despite having some disagreements, I’ve always seen them (PKR) as an ally, and I want to ensure the opposition goes into the next election united to win,” he said.
Syed Saddiq also said Muda has never set any preconditions on who should be the prime minister or deputy prime minister as part of its support for the opposition.
“The negotiation, for Muda, will not be about the PM or the DPM. That is not Muda’s priority,” he said.
“Moving forward, what we want to negotiate with the opposition is on values, policies and principles.” – The Vibes, August 11, 2022
Tune into the full episode of the podcast titled The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Ep 12 on Saturday at 10am
