Syed Saddiq vows to combat the corrupt from inside Bersatu

Bersatu Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has vowed to keep fighting the corrupt while remaining in the party.

“I am still in Bersatu. You know why I am in Bersatu? Because the struggle of Bersatu is to reject the corrupt and those who abuse power.

“And I believe that I will fight them and I will fight them hard to ensure that Bersatu rises up as a party which fights those who are corrupt. The Malays should never ever align themselves with those who are corrupt.

“What's the purpose of having temporary power but permanently have our moral conscience tainted?” he said when door stopped by the media on his last day as the Youth and Sports Minister today.

Syed lost his post when the Cabinet was dissolved following Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s resignation as prime minister last Monday (Feb 24).

During last week’s political crisis, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin had taken the party out of Pakatan Harapan to form a new pact with Umno, MCA, MIC, PAS and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).

The move split the party between him and Mahathir, who re-joined with Harapan in a bid to return as prime minister. Muhyiddin was eventually sworn in as the eighth PM on Sunday.

Syed, who is aligned with Mahathir, promised to continue “speaking his mind” on issues of integrity.

"I will stand on the path of integrity and I will keep speaking my mind and what I believe in.

The very reason why I joined politics was to reject the corrupt," he said.

However, he declined to confirm if he will be taking part in a “Jelajah Harapan” event in Klang this Saturday, the poster of which advertised his appearance.

“I need to check [...] I want to go back to (my constituency) Muar,” he answered briefly.

Choosing integrity over opportunity

Elaborating, the 27-year-old MP hoped that youths would always choose integrity over opportunity.

“Every person will be tested with lucrative opportunities that will challenge your heart and integrity. I just hope as Malaysians, we will always pick the path of integrity over opportunity.

“Especially for this ministry that is for the youths. As the youths we must set the right standards, we must show we are better and that we must aspire to be better,” he said.

Syed had spoken to the media after holding his last meeting with ministry officials, where he thanked them for their service over the past 22 months and apologised for last week's political crisis.

Also outgoing was deputy minister Steven Sim, who similarly thanked both Syed and the civil service for their contributions.   - Mkini