For the first time in public, Hannah Yeoh talked about her feelings for her former ally, Syed Saddiq, who was also the former president of the youth party MUDA.

The Youth and Sports Minister said that she has seen shifting allegiances many times in the 16 years she’s been in politics, including PAS, Bersatu, MUDA, and others. But she said that hearing Syed Saddiq call DAP “lapdog” and “hypocrites, power-hungry, and without principles” was still quite hurtful.

On top of that, MUDA contesting against DAP in the last state election probably built up even more resentment that DAP has for the youth party. And from the way it sounds, it is hard to imagine how the two parties could work together again in the future.

While Syed Saddiq said in his reply to Hannah Yeoh that his criticism to DAP was not meant to be personal, and he was simply standing up for principles, we know that any political partnership is based on pragmatism and opportunism.

On the surface, it would seem that DAP and MUDA worked well together because of principles, particularly on building a multiracial party. DAP was often the most generous in giving winnable seats to MUDA to solidify the partnership especially when MUDA is a young party with no grassroots base.

However this partnership would never work if it wasn’t rooted in a deep pragmatism. Both parties knew that PH’s popularity among Malay-majority urban and semiurban enclaves could be increased. And DAP’s overreliance on PKR to deliver that segment might be too risky especially when PKR is seen as falling short of its obligations. To many insiders, MUDA could act as a replacement to PKR if they continue to perform successfully, and given Syed Saddiq’s social media popularity, it looked very promising.

Syed Saddiq was also willing to play that role. It knew that its party needed winnable seats and grassroots machinery support to prove its worth. And it knew that DAP was willing to provide them before it slowly trespassed into PKR’s seats. That is why the seat negotiations was most vicious between PKR and MUDA, and also why PKR’s youth groups are most upset with MUDA.

It was also pragmatism that eventually convinced MUDA to leave the PH cooperation. It knew that its negotiations for PKR seats will never be smooth, and that it was better to contest against them. That was why MUDA decided to contest against PH in the state elections. Even though the reason for its departure was because MUDA was against corruption, it was most definitely pragmatism that drove them out.

Additionally, everyone also knows that MUDA cannot hold the moral high ground with other parties. When Syed Saddiq first came into politics, the first party he joined was Bersatu because it gave him the fastest route to rise up the political ranks. If he was truly principled, he would have joined a multiracial party, but pragmatism drove him ahead. When PH government fell in 2020, Syed Saddiq appeared at Sheraton Hotel to negotiate for the main movers of the backdoor government. When the unity government was formed with Zahid Hamidi as deputy prime minister, Syed Saddiq was part of the government and only quit after.

If it was truly “principle” that he stood for, he wouldn’t have made these choices, but he did because it was the pragmatic thing to do. And that is the reality of most politicians. While Syed Saddiq will claim that his corruption case is not over yet, it once again does not give his claims for corruption credibility when he is also ridden with similar cases.

This means that any future partnership of DAP and MUDA is probable depending on whether it is politically pragmatic at that time. If MUDA is able to prop up winnable Malay candidates to win at urban and semiurban seats, and that PKR’s candidates are few and unpopular, then the DAP-MUDA partnership will happen without force. However, if PKR continues to expand its membership and trains good Malay candidates who promote a multiracial society with a Malay-Muslim emphasis, then DAP will not think of searching for another partner.

That is not to say that the history between the two parties and Hannah Yeoh and Syed Saddiq does not matter. It does—the conflict has angered the grassroots from both parties that undoubtedly feel betrayed and attacked. “Hurtful” is a mild way to put it. But if the moment calls for it, then the grassroots would have to accept it begrudgingly as well. Just as how they had to accept working with Mahathir and UMNO.

Pragmatism drives political choices. Principle is used as a reason to justify choices, but do not for one second think that principle is enough. That is the most hurtful, but truthful, thing to hear.

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