Muar MP and MUDA president Syed Saddiq has become the subject of controversy once again, this time over a selfie he took with Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin.
Took selfie with Muhyiddin
In a photo posted on his Instagram account yesterday, Syed Saddiq could be seen smiling from ear to ear with Muhyiddin beside him.
In the caption, he wrote that he had visited Muhyiddin and talked to him for two hours about life after GE15.
He also said that him meeting the PN chairman was to show that he was a strong believer of bipartisanship despite the sharp differences they have.
The general election is over, now is the time to focus on serving. Despite being in a different party, my respect for Muhyiddin remains the same. Respect friends and opponents.
“Muhyiddin is also my voter in Muar. He contributed a lot. Let’s build a Malaysia which is governed with integrity and dignity, a country where all Malaysians feel at home,” he wrote.
Supporters strongly disagree
However, not all Malaysians seemed to agree with Syed Saddiq’s apparent gesture of goodwill towards Muhyiddin and criticised him for betraying his supporters’ trust.
They also said that it was difficult for them to have respect towards an individual who resorted to fearmongering tactics to win votes during GE15.
Prior to election day, Muhyiddin was caught on record claiming that Christians in Malaysia were in cahoots with Jews in an attempt to Christianise the country, which drew the ire of netizens and the Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM).
‘I don’t support PN’
When contacted by Malaysiakini, Syed Saddiq denied he was voicing support for PN with the selfie.
He also added that he had held bipartisan discussions ever since he was part of Pakatan Harapan (PH) in 2018.
I stated the purpose of the meeting (on social media). I have been having bipartisan (engagements) when I was in the government and when I was part of the opposition. And now, I am back in the government.
“And I stated this quite a number of times. How is that (some speculated I am backing PN)?” he said.
In the past, Syed Saddiq has been criticised for associating or being friendly to less than savory individuals, most notably the controversial preacher Dr Zakir Naik.
What do you think of Syed Saddiq’s explanation? Let us know in the comments!
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