PENANG Deputy Chief Minister P. Ramasamy has taken Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman to task over his comments on PKR founder Syed Husin Ali.
The DAP leader questioned the youth and sports minister’s temerity to question Syed Husin, whom he described as not an ordinary person.
“Who is he to question the founder member of PKR, former president of Parti Rakyat Malaysia and a former eminent academic of Universiti Malaya in the field of sociology and anthropology?
“For his uncompromising political beliefs, Syed Husin was detained under the Internal Security Act in the mid-1970s,” he said in a statement today.
Ramasamy said it was okay if Syed Saddiq wanted to “apple-polish” Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, but not at the expense of Syed Husin.
Yesterday, Syed Saddiq criticised Syed Husin after the latter’s caustic remarks against Dr Mahathir regarding the deadline over the transition of power to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim.
He also termed the prime minister’s overseas trips as a waste of public funds.
However, Ramasamy said Syed Hussin, being a founding member of PKR, was entitled to question the succession issue.
“It is not about one, two or three years that Dr Mahathir should stay in office, but his status as the interim prime minister, not for the full term but a reasonable period.
“This period might not have been specified in the Pakatan Harapan agreement, but there is a consensus that Dr Mahathir will allow Anwar to take power in two years.
“Anwar has announced this and it is for Dr Mahathir to set the precise date. What is so difficult about this?”
Ramasamy questioned the need for Syed Saddiq to obfuscate the issue by claiming that Dr Mahathir could remain at the helm for as long as he pleased.
“If we accept the notion that Dr Mahathir’s status is an interim one, that alone calls for the succession matter to be settled by May 2020, once and for all.
“It is certainly not the time to praise Dr Mahathir for his contributions and to castigate Anwar for his non-contributions,” he added.
Regardless of whether one agreed with Syed Husin or otherwise, Ramasamy said the veteran leader should be respected for his role in politics and educating generations of Malaysians.
In the end, the DAP leader said this is not about Anwar or Dr Mahathir, but the future of PH and if its leaders cannot honour a simple agreement on the transition power, how would they address the promises made to the people.
Ramasamy urged leaders of PH take the “moral high ground” to settle the succession once and for all to fight the PAS-Umno pact.
Syed Husin’s remarks came in the wake of Dr Mahathir, who is also Bersatu president, stating that he would be in office for a maximum of three years.
– https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/
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