Bersatu president, Muhyiddin Yassin, said that after the holy month of Ramadan, his coalition, PN, will start a roadshow to explain current affairs to the people. A roadshow by politicians is typically a propaganda machine to attack the government of the day.

But he mentioned something unexpected. On this tour, Muar MP, Syed Saddiq, will be joining them. “Although he is not with PN, he is our ally,” said Muhyiddin.

Upon Muhyiddin’s statement, Syed Saddiq’s party, MUDA, started distancing themselves from him. The secretary general and acting president quickly dismissed it, and said that this was neither discussed nor agreed at the central leadership committee. MUDA has not agreed to be part of the roadshow, and by extension, Syed Saddiq, is not permitted to do so until permission is sought.

Of course, the smaller issue in this is the conflict that Syed Saddiq still has with the party he founded. Although MUDA was built by him and his influence, once he resigned from the party president post after his guilty verdict, he could no longer decide based on his whims and fancies. Just because Syed Saddiq has regular contact with Muhyiddin and showed his support for the roadshow, it does not mean that MUDA will agree. This is a bitter pill to swallow for a person who was once the youngest ever minister in the country.

This is also not the first time MUDA has faced significant reputation damage. A month ago, when the acting president, Amira Aisya, appeared in court to support Daim Zainuddin’s wife in her case, many questioned if MUDA was funded by Daim. Amira prompted denied and said that “Daim Zainuddin is not MUDA’s biggest funder”. But she then proceeded to say that Daim’s wife, Naimah, was actually a MUDA member.

While having the wife of the notorious Daim Zainuddin as a member is not illegal, it definitely would disappoint its core supporter base that consists of largely young and idealistic voters who believe in a different future. A youth party that is still burdened by the baggage of the past does not inspire confidence.

After the backlash from his party, Syed Saddiq clarified his decision. He said that joining PN’s roadshow does not equate to supporting the coalition. He was only interested to use a “neutral” platform to explain the people’s issues.

Of course, we know that there is no such thing as a neutral platform on a political roadshow. It is where stories are spun and where half-lies are told, often without accountability and repercussions. Saying that he still needs to present and get the approval of the party is nothing more than a cover line.

It is more reasonable to ask: Why did Syed Saddiq choose PN?

This is not a complete departure for Syed Saddiq. Instead, this was a continuation of smaller steps to abandon PH and move closer to PN. The early seeds were planted when Syed Saddiq was spotted at Sheraton Hotel in February 2020 where the infamous Sheraton Move was plotted. Bersatu left the PH government and the Muhyiddin Yassin-Azmin Ali combination stole the throne.

Syed Saddiq formed MUDA shortly after, which invited grouses from the PH youth grassroots, especially those in PKR. This was the most natural reaction as the seats that MUDA was after were not the traditional rural Malay seats; in fact, they were the mixed and urban seats that PH was strongest.

As expected, MUDA negotiated for these seats to contest in GE15 and were left with an acrimonious outcome. Sensibly, PH wanted to divide the seats among themselves, and only included MUDA towards the end. Any new party would have to fight for their presence than to expect incumbents to give seats for them to contest, especially when MUDA still relies on PH’s machinery to succeed due to lack of grassroots presence.

Things started to turn sour in the state elections a few months after GE15. MUDA knew that its chances of getting seats once again relied on PH’s goodwill, and chose instead to contest on its own. It fielded 20 candidates across 6 states, with most concentrated in urban pockets.

Competition is acceptable. But MUDA chose to run its campaign platform by attacking PH and its 7-month government. In contrast, it barely said anything about its other competitor, PN, even though the coalition was a prominent competitor in the northern regions.

After that, Syed Saddiq continued his tirade of attacks, and each time deeper than the last. Following Zahid Hamidi’s DNAA, he said DAP has become Zahid’s “lapdog” and “puppet” besides the phrases “hypocrites”, “power hungry” and “without principles”. A few days later, he pulled out of the unity government bloc and sat at the other side of the aisle in Parliament.

His guilty verdict of the corruption case—7 years of jail, caning and RM10 million fine—probably deepened his anger towards the PH government, justified or not. It was then that he decided to relinquish his presidency at MUDA, and chose to disengage with politics, except for occasional emotive criticisms in parliament.

Syed Saddiq was always close to Muhyiddin Yassin. It was one of the first few politicians he spoke to before joining politics, and he maintained close ties with Muhyiddin despite being on opposite sides. His closeness to Muhyiddin has led to criticisms among his supporters who saw Muhyiddin as part of the treacherous architect of Sheraton Move.

But reality is stronger than the force of principles. Reality also takes into account the human factor. Anger, vengeance, and friendship matter to how politicians make choices. Even without assessing the political outcome of moving close to PN, it makes sense that Syed Saddiq is where he is today. For better or for worse.

(James Chai is a Think Tank Chief Researcher and Legal Advisor)