KUALA LUMPUR - PKR, the party founded by jailed Opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim, has snared a prize catch from Prime Minister Najib Razak's Umno party. Former deputy minister Saifuddin Abdullah has confirmed joining PKR, citing disillusionment over how Najib was mishandling the RM42 billion 1MDB debacle, and in particular foiling attempts to investigate a RM2.6 bil donation discovered in his personal bank accounts,
"The way we deal with 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion issue," The Malaysian Insider reported Saifuddin as saying when asked why he had left Umno
"That's why I feel I no longer fit in Umno and BN," he told a packed news conference at the PKR headquarters today to announce his membership to the multiracial opposition party.
Meanwhile, political insiders believe the move is not a simple case of party hopping even though Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan had threatened to sack Saifuddin, who heads the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM), for attending the recent unveiling of a new Opposition pact - the Pakatan Harapan.
Great implications: All eyes on Nazir but he is unlikely to cross over
While it is a feather in the cap for PKR, Saifuddin's shock decision to hop over may have much greater implications. He had previously revealed he was in the process of launching a new NGO together with Najib's brother Nazir Razak, who heads the sprawling CIMB banking group.
Nazir, the ambitious 49-year-old youngest son of Malaysia's second premier Tun Abdul Razak, has frequently criticized his brother's policies especially over the corruption-riddled 1MDB state fund.
Nazir is also said to be at odds with Najib's controversial and aggressive wife Rosmah Mansor, whom many believe is the real power behind Najib's 'throne'.
According to political sources, Saifuddin's entree into the Opposition via PKR will take the 'grand coalition' envisaged by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad another step closer to fruition and its goal of bringing down the scandal-tainted Najib.
"Saifuddin belongs to the reformers group in Umno, who are very concerned about the perceived harm Najib is doing to the country and to Umno. Najib's own brother Nazir is also an Umno reformer but because of family ties, Nazir won't ever leave Umno even though Saifuddin is very close to him," a political source told Malaysia Chronicle.
"Somehow, Dr M has managed to bring together all the elements he believes are needed to form a grand coalition against Najib. A few days ago, he and other Umno warlords Muhyiddin Yassin, Tengku Razaleigh and Shafie Apdal announced they were joining forces. The Malay Rulers have already issued a landmark statement censuring Najib's government. The civil service are revolting, with Bank Negara and the MACC standing their ground despite intimidation bids by the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General. Today, it is the turn of the Umno reformers to kick in. They can show their support from the sidelines or by directly cutting ties with Najib and gang, like what Saifuddin is doing. All those involved, including the Opposition, have made their stand. Now it's time for war."
Nazir,
Waiting for the signal to 'ATTACK': No-confidence vote not so soon but Najib to be 'out' before the end of this year
Click here to read more at SAIFUDDIN ABDULLAH TO JOIN PKR? DISGUSTED WITH NAJIB, OTHER UMNO MODERATES MAY FOLLOW SOON
The source however dismissed talk that a no-confidence vote will tabled next week.
"Not yet ripe timing for no-confidence vote. We have to wait for the signal to attack. All those who want Najib to step down must work hard, go to the ground and explain the Rulers' decree. They need to overcome Malay insecurity for change."
"But whatever way Najib is brought, it will happen this year. Everything is more or less set. Within Umno, only Zahid Hamidi (the Deputy Prime Minister) is defending Najib and this is largely for his own interest to stay on as DPM."
It is understood that several other Umno 'bigwigs' will also jump over to the reformist party founded by Anwar in 1998.
Saifuddin's entry will be a big morale booster for PKR, which has been on the decline since Najib threw Anwar into jail on trumped-up sodomy charges earlier this year.
It will be a feather in the cap for Anwar's wife, Dr Wan Azizah Ismail, who is now in charge of running PKR.
Saifuddin raised eyebrows when he attended the recent unveiling of new Opposition pact Pakatan Harapan
Saifuddin was elected to Parliament in the 2008 election,and was immediately appointed as a deputy minister, being cited as a future ministerial prospect. He had previously been the Secretary-General of the Malaysian Youth Council.
After the election he was appointed as a deputy minister, and was the Deputy Minister for Higher Education in Najib Razak's first term as Prime Minister.
During his ministerial tenure, Saifuddin was one of the more moderate and liberal-progressive politicians in Najib's administration. He criticised his own government's handling of the Bersih 2.0 rally in 2011, in which over 1,600 protestors were arrested on the streets of Kuala Lumpur.
In early 2013, he also stood up for a student who was humiliated by a government-linked panellist at a student forum at the Universiti Utara Malaysia.
Saifuddin's ministerial career was cut short by the 2013 election, when he lost his Temerloh parliamentary seat to a PAS candidate, Nasrudin Tantawi, by 1,070 votes.
Saifuddin has written four books on Malaysian politics. After leaving Parliament he joined the University of Malaya as a research fellow, but in 2014, he resigned his position in protest when Malaysia's Education Ministry forced a well-respected professor at the university to resign, reportedly due to research findings critical of the government. - Malaysia Chronicle
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