THE STAR
Saifuddin togethre with other PKR leaders.
PETALING JAYA: Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah (pix) says that he joined PKR because he feels that he does not fit in with Umno and Barisan National.
Saifuddin said that he was attracted by PKR's multi-racial model, unlike that of BN, which he claimed practised communal politics.
"I consider this a big decision for a small person such as myself," he told a packed press conference at the PKR headquarters on Thursday.
Saifuddin said that he entered politics for objectives that were higher than personal or party interests.
He said the struggle was to build a better Malaysia for everyone.
“That struggle needs real change. To me, two things need to be done; political change and institutional reforms,” he said, adding that these issues were championed by Pakatan Rakyat and now Pakatan Harapan.
“Unfortunately, these issues were not discussed substantively and comprehensively in Umno and Barisan Nasional. That is why I felt I did not fit in,” he added.
Saifuddin also said that he joined PKR because he believed that changes to the configuration of the existing political system were needed, especially the communal politics that he claimed Barisan practised.
“I was drawn to PKR which made serious attempts to achieve true multiracialism … although other friends and parties tried, in this context, PKR was my choice,” he said.
He also said that he would tender his resignation as the CEO of Global Movement of Moderation (GMM) when its chairman Tan Sri Razali Ismail returned from overseas.
Saifuddin, a former deputy minister, was recently issued a show-cause letter by Umno for attending a roundtable discussion of the Opposition parties at Empire Hotel in Subang on Sept 21.
Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said Saifuddin’s motives for attending the meeting, which led to the formation of Pakatan Harapan, were questionable even though he was there in his capacity as an NGO leader.
In the 2013 general election, Saifuddin lost his Temerloh parliamentary seat to PAS.
He also lost his place on the Umno Supreme Council in the party elections the same year.
