INTERVIEW | Unlike many of his cabinet colleagues, Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah is no stranger to Putrajaya.
But so much has changed since Saifuddin was a deputy minister in the previous BN administration, more than just his move from the Higher Education Ministry to Wisma Putra.
In his first official media interview since being picked for Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s cabinet, he told Malaysiakini said the biggest difference is the true “freedom” he now enjoys under Pakatan Harapan.
"When I was a member of the Umno supreme council, the rule of thumb is to toe the line.
"I am now secretariat chief of Harapan and a member of the PKR political bureau, and I have yet to be reminded to toe the line," he said when met at his office.
"But that doesn't mean that you can be so free to the extent that you can defy party orders.
"But there's no gag order, there is no 'toe the line' kind of thing," he stressed.
‘Freedom is freedom’
Commenting further, Saifuddin said Harapan leaders, unlike those from BN, understand that "freedom is freedom," without the need to add a caveat that it must be exercised with responsibility.
"We know how to do it. Because we all understand that freedom is freedom. We will know how to optimise the freedom that we get.
"That's why even from those days I don't like the idea of 'freedom with responsibility'," he said. "I really hated that sentence."
The Indera Mahkota MP reiterated that any person who talked about "freedom with responsibility" did not understand the real meaning of freedom.
"Freedom is freedom. You know what you can do, you know what you cannot do. I mean, that's not rocket science.”
Saifuddin added that he never enjoyed such freedoms while in Umno, where he served in the cabinets of former premiers Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Abdul Razak.
The then-Temerloh MP was first appointed as entrepreneur and cooperative development deputy minister in 2008 during Abdullah's tenure.
When Najib took over as the sixth prime minister the following year, his portfolio was changed to that of deputy higher education minister II.
Staying in line
Saifuddin recounted an incident when he was summoned to the office of then-higher education minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin over his statement on student affairs, which among others touched on importance of student empowerment.
"He (Khaled) told me 'Din, your statement is okay, but some friends are not very happy about it.' I just gave him a smile and continued," he said with a chuckle.
Following the affair, Saifuddin said he was subsequently called up by Najib, who reminded him that he was only a deputy minister.
The matter was also discussed by the cabinet, he added, before he was warned to keep a "low profile" as a deputy minister.
"But I still continued, I didn't care,” he said.
Saifuddin was at the time widely recognised as being among the more moderate and progressive voices among the at times deafening racial rhetoric of Umno leaders.
Aside from his views which strayed from the party line on occasion, Saifuddin was also known at the time as being an ardent fan of basketball, a passion which remains until today.
Fittingly, a framed autographed jersey of retired Los Angeles Lakers star Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr hangs on the wall of his plush new office, along with an autographed NBA basketball in a glass case.
In the two weeks since being sworn in as a minister, Saifuddin admitted that there is still a lot for him to learn, right from the "most diplomatically correct" way to pick up a phone call and receive a congratulatory message.
"I am still new to the cabinet, but the way we carry ourselves as ministers and as members of the (Harapan) presidential council, I think we enjoy the freedom which I personally have not enjoyed when I was in Umno supreme council or as a deputy minister.
"So I feel more free today.”
'Noisy parliament good for democracy'
Aside from more individual freedom, Saifuddin pointed out how institutions such as the Dewan Rakyat are increasingly becoming freer under Harapan rule.
In this Parliament session, Saifuddin noted that there are some 90 new MPs, as well as a new speaker and two new deputy speakers.
"Yes, it can be very noisy. But this is a transition. They will take time to settle down," said Saifuddin, who returned to Parliament this session after losing the Temerloh seat to PAS' Nasruddin Hassan in the 13th general election.
"I like the fact that the opposition is now more active.
"They were not active as backbenchers before and now suddenly they are very active," he said, adding that the "extra noise" is a positive step towards improving democracy in Malaysia. - Mkini
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