“I Don’t Think It Will Be A Success”: Tun M Doesn’t Believe in Syed Saddiq’s Youth-Centric Party

By Ameera Rosli  •  03 Sep 2020 in News

Thirsty for JUICE content? Quench your cravings on our Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp

Syed Saddiq received praise when he announced he was going to start his own party that centred around the youth of Malaysia. Instead of joining Tun Mahathir’s newly-founded Pejuang party, he said,

“Even though I have yet to join the party (Pejuang) and am still an Independent, nevertheless, I still back the Opposition bloc. Pejuang and I are still family, but at the same time, there are many young leaders out there who should be given the opportunity to lead the party.”

At the moment, he is currently recruiting his team and many are hopeful that this will change the fabric of Malaysian politics for the better. However, one such adversary remains unfazed and even sceptical. I don’t think it’s hard to guess who…

Tun Mahathir was very vocal about his qualms with the new youth party led by Syed Saddiq in a debate at Putrajaya. He dismissed the idea and said that it would be extremely difficult for Saddiq to accumulate enough votes to win.

Instead, he placed his support on, you guessed it, his own party, Pejuang, and even said it would be the “kingmaker” come next elections. Regarding Saddiq’s party, Tun Mahathir said,

“I do not know why he wants to form a party. I don’t think it will be a success. Youth votes are not enough to win. In each constituency, there will be old people, but this is a free country. If he feels he needs to break away, we do not have a problem as long as they are also in the fight to combat corruption.

“Pejuang meanwhile is not attached to any party. In the election, we are looking to win in 30 seats and we are in the position to choose which party we can cooperate. If the other party can accept our condition, then we can work together.”

Despite Saddiq’s heaping praise for Mahathir in the past, it seems like he is creating his own path now, diverting from his mentor’s wishes.

When Saddiq caught wind of Mahathir’s statement, he responded in a way everyone expected of him. He tweeted,

Terima kasih Tun.

Kami terima kritikan dengan hati yang terbuka.

This is a party led by Youths FOR ALL MALAYSIANS.

Majoriti yang akan memimpin adalah golongan teknokrat, profesional, usahawan, Petani moden, civil society leaders dll

We may be Young, but we love Malaysia 🇲🇾💪🏻 https://t.co/YnDljlVAtU

— Syed Saddiq 🇲🇾🌺 (@SyedSaddiq) September 3, 2020

To translate, Saddiq basically thanked Mahathir and said, “We accept the criticism with an open heart. Majority of leaders will be technocrats, professionals, businessmen, modern farmers, civil society leaders etc.”

Only time will tell which party will come up on top but until then, stay informed.