Saifuddin could have done more damage in UMNO

One more progressive, moderate is not going to change the Opposition’s fortunes

COMMENT

By Karamjit Gill

The unveiling of Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah as a new member of PKR is being hailed as a huge coup for the Opposition. The question is, will Saifuddin who abandoned Barisan Nasional due to the alleged 1MDB scandal, add any leverage to the Opposition coalition?

Saifuddin is a former Member of Parliament from Temerloh who has also held the position of Deputy Higher Education Minister. From the beginning, Saifuddin was always regarded as the future of UMNO and BN due to his moderate views and progressive nature. He never shied away from openly questioning the government when he felt things were not right. He even relinquished his position as a fellow of University Malaya following the controversial termination of UM’s Professor Datuk Dr Mohammad Redzuan Omar.

Saifuddin has all the qualities loved by the urban populace. They have a positive view of him and see him as quite unlike other UMNO members. Yet, he still lost his Temerloh parliamentary seat to a PAS candidate. A modern, progressive and intelligent Malay lost to an individual from a conservative party. In simple words, Saifuddin was rejected by the people of Temerloh. He even lost his UMNO Supreme Council seat. His losses rendered him without a position within the party.

That is something worth pondering about. Did he get booted out because he was not performing his duties as an MP? Was he just too busy politicking rather than doing his job?

The Opposition coalition is filled with the ‘so called’ moderate and progressive types. How would the addition of another benefit the organisation? In order to secure a parliamentary seat, Saifuddin would probably have to stand in an urban area where the support is already with the Opposition. His potential win then would make absolutely no difference to the Opposition as they (Opposition) already control all major cities.

As a member of PKR, Saifuddin can be expected to continue to voice concerns about alleged improprieties in the government. Will that make any difference at all? He has been doing that all along but it did not do him any good – he still lost. What is he going to amount to in PKR? Is he just going to be another one of the many fringe players?

What the Opposition should have done instead is coax Saifuddin to remain in UMNO. An UMNO member who continuously speaks up against the leader of his organisation, who highlights the wrongs carries much more value than one doing the same under the Opposition’s banner.

If the sack from UMNO was imminent, the sentiment within the party may have swayed in Saifuddin’s favour. Now, Saifuddin is likely to be seen as just another BN defector who has fallen out of favour and is utilising the 1MDB saga as a vehicle to remain relevant in politics. Perhaps joining the Opposition was the only way for him to obtain a seat in the next GE, hence the jump.

The one advantage Saifuddin may have now is the increase in likes and positive comments on his social media page and more city folk applauding every statement he makes. It is worth realising that social media is just a small subset of Malaysia. Getting a huge number of hits on social media is not going to win you Putrajaya.

Internal unrest is the only way to defeat BN and Saifuddin would have been perfect at making that happen within BN.

Karamjit Gill is an FMT reader.