KUALA LUMPUR: Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said he is ready to face the consequences of calling for the resignation of P. Waythamoorthy as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.
The defiant chief of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (Bersatu) youth wing Armada said that he was simply speaking his mind on the issue and that he would not be kept silent on important matters.
“I did not enter politics to play safe. I did not enter politics to be a ‘yes man’. I did not enter politics to (keep my) my mouth and ears shut when the people voice out.
“I am ready for action be taken (against me) if what I did was wrong. I will never apologise for speaking my mind,” he said in a Facebook posting late last night.
Syed Saddiq was responding to Penang Deputy Chief Minister P. Ramasamy’s call for action be taken against the Youth and Sports Minister for supporting Armada’s handing over of a memorandum to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad seeking Waythamoorthy’s resignation.
Waythamoorthy, whose portfolio is National Unity, came under fire from both sides of the political divide over his statement regarding riots at the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Subang Jaya last month.
Syed Saddiq sarcastically reminded Ramasamy that he should also call for action to be taken against others who called for Waythamoorthy’s ouster.
Among those who have demanded the Minister’s resignation in recent weeks are Penang exco Dr Afif Bahardin, Parti Amanah Negara, and Dr Mahathir’s own special advisor on media and communications, Datuk A. Kadir Jasin.
“Your (Ramasamy) own party’s youth wing urged the Education Minister (Dr Maszlee Malik) to step down.
“But when an Armada leader (demands that a minister resigns, I am) accused of betraying PH (Pakatan Harapan), accused of playing up racial sentiments, accused of being like Umno and Pas.
“This has nothing to do with race. It is about agreeing to disagree, about not suppressing the people’s right to freely express their viewpoints,” Syed Saddiq said.
