[UPDATED] GE15: real leaders don’t lob personal attacks, Saifuddin swipes at Anwar, Rafizi

KUANTAN – Incumbent Indera Mahkota MP Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah has hit back at Pakatan Harapan (PH) figures for encouraging voters in the constituency to turn their backs on him due to his defection from the coalition after winning the seat under its banner.

Saiduddin poured scorn over PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s and deputy president Rafizi Ramli’s speeches during PH campaigns in the Indera Mahkota area, lambasting the duo for their “cheap tricks”.

“When Rafizi and Anwar came here (Indera Mahkota), they used the opportunity to attack me,” he told reporters when met on the sidelines of his campaign here.

“(Bersatu president and Perikatan Nasional chairman) Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has also shown up here, but he didn’t attack any other GE15 (15th general election) candidates.

“(This goes to show that) real leaders don’t throw personal attacks. Instead, they speak on (their) policies and manifestoes.”

Saifuddin, who is defending the Indera Mahkota federal seat as a PN candidate for GE15, added that he has taken PH’s attacks against him in stride.

“My conclusion is that they (PH) cannot find a candidate good enough to run against me (for GE15), so the big guns have to come down.”

Two days ago, Anwar had called on Indera Mahkota voters to remember Saifuddin’s “betrayal” when marking their ballot papers for the “traitor seat”. 

Saifuddin, who is also the caretaker foreign affairs minister, had jumped to PN component party Bersatu following the infamous Sheraton Move, which saw the collapse of the PH administration in February 2020 after just 22 months in power in Putrajaya.

Additionally, former PKR man Saifuddin accused Anwar of engaging in nepotistic practices, despite apparently taking the “moral high ground of a reformist”. 

“Regardless of what (Anwar) says about me, he has to evaluate himself first. 

“He always speaks about reform and (claims to be) against nepotism but the interesting thing (about Anwar) is that he himself is an example of nepotism,” he said. 

He explained his assertion by pointing out that Anwar, as PH president, had put his signature down on dotted lines confirming his family members’ participation in the looming national polls. 

“He signed the candidacy letters for his wife (Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail) and daughter (Nurul Izzah Anwar) to contest in GE15. 

“He (Anwar) should look in the mirror before saying anything about me,” he said, referencing the political maneuvering in Kajang and Port Dickson to allude that this is not the first instance of Anwar dabbling in nepotism.

The Kajang Move took place in 2014 during the late Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim’s tenure as Selangor menteri besar. At the time, PKR attempted to replace Khalid with Anwar who ran for the Kajang state assembly seat that was vacated for this purpose.

However, Anwar was disqualified from the Kajang election due to a court case involving his former aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan and was subsequently replaced by his wife Dr Wan Azizah. 

The Port Dickson Move occurred shortly after the 2018 general election, following Anwar’s release from prison at the behest of the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V, who granted him a royal pardon on his second sodomy conviction.

Then-Port Dickson MP Datuk Daniyal Balagopal Abdullah had vacated the seat to make way for Anwar’s return to politics. 

Besides that, Saifuddin revealed that the three other contestants for the Indera Mahkota federal seat had declined to take part in a public debate planned by a non-government organisation. 

“It is regretful that my opponents do not want to come down for a debate (since debates allow) voters a chance to analyse candidates while bringing political discourse to a higher level.”

The Indera Mahkota federal seat will see a four-cornered fight for GE15, with Saifuddin going against Barisan Nasional’s Quek Tai Seong, PH’s Zuraidi Ismail, and Pejuang’s Mohamad Nor Sundari.

Malaysians will head to the polling stations on November 19, with early voting set for November 15. – The Vibes, November 13, 2022