Syed Saddiq Temporarily Steps Down As Muda President

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Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said the party’s deputy president, Amira Aisya Abd Aziz, would take over his duties temporarily.PETALING JAYA: Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has decided to temporarily step down as Muda president following his conviction for corruption charges earlier today.
At a press conference here, Syed Saddiq also said he will not be involved in any of the party’s decision-making processes from now on, with Muda deputy president Amira Aisya Abd Aziz taking over his duties temporarily.
“In order to be president of Muda…. that leader must be ‘whiter than white’,” he said.
“And the fact of the matter is, I don’t deserve that role anymore.
“I will vacate my post immediately while I clear my name in court.”
Syed Saddiq was convicted by the Kuala Lumpur High Court of abetting in criminal breach of trust (CBT), misappropriation of assets and money laundering today.
The former youth and sports minister has been sentenced to seven years jail, a RM10 million fine and two strokes of the rotan. The sentences have been stayed pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Stressing that the president’s institution was “such an important role”, Syed Saddiq said he owed it to Muda members and the general public to go on garden leave until his court case was settled.
Syed Saddiq said while he managed to obtain a stay on the execution of his sentence, and that it would be “no problem” for him to remain in his post, he felt he had to lead by example and take a step back from the party.
“I need to walk the talk. This is not about legalities or bureaucracy. This is about principles,” he said.
“When I joined politics, my aim was to clean up politics in my beloved homeland, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get there.
“Although there are still two more avenues for appeal, I need to set a higher threshold for myself, just as I expect that threshold to be raised for the politics of our beloved homeland.” - FMT

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