PUTRAJAYA: Muda must decide if it wants to remain in the unity government, says DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook.
Loke reminded Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman that he was able to retain the Muar seat in the last general election (GE15) only because Pakatan Harapan (PH) had agreed to step aside for the former youth and sports minister.
The Muar MP is the party’s sole representative in the Dewan Rakyat.
The Seremban MP said PH had stepped aside for Syed Saddiq to win the seat. As such, Syed Saddiq had a responsibility to support the unity government because his victory was in no small part thanks to the efforts by the PH election machinery in Muar.
“Muar is not Syed Saddiq’s personal victory. Do not forget that he contested in Muar due to an understanding with PH, with us giving Muda six seats (in GE15).
“PH made way for him. As such, his victory also represents the PH bloc,” Loke told reporters after the party’s convention in Putrajaya today.
He said the coalition’s victories in the Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections in Johor yesterday was a “vote of confidence” for the unity government because the people wanted a strong and stable administration.
On Tuesday, Muda secretary-general Amir Hadi said the party might reconsider its position in the unity government after deputy prime minister and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) by the High Court in his Yayasan Akalbudi corruption case.
This was followed by a heated exchange between DAP and Muda after Syed Saddiq said he agreed with former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin that DAP had become a “lapdog” in the unity government by turning a blind eye to abuse of power.
He also labelled the party “hypocritical, power-hungry and without principles”.
His statement came after DAP vice-chairman Nga Kor Ming urged Syed Saddiq to meet unity government leaders to voice Muda’s dissatisfaction over Zahid’s DNAA instead of waging war in the media.
Two DAP central executive committee members were less accommodating.
Ipoh Timur MP Howard Lee told Muda to leave the government bloc and join the opposition.
Former Paloh assemblyman Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali said Syed Saddiq seemed to have forgotten the loyalty and support that DAP had shown him and other Muda candidates in GE15.