Put greater good above personal gain, urges ‘Reformasi’ child

Nabihah Hamid Nabihah Hamid Updated 6 years ago · Published on 29 Mar 2018 7:00AM · 4 Comments

Angkatan Muda Keadilan Selangor secretary Syed Badli Shah Syed Osman says if the top leadership names a cat as a candidate, the decision should be accepted by all. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Hasnoor Hussain, March 29, 2018.

HAVING been exposed to Malaysian politics from the age of 14 has left a lasting mark on Syed Badli Shah Syed Osman, one of PKR’s fast-rising young leaders who remains unbending in his hopes that the opposition will one day take over the federal government.

But to achieve this, said Syed Badli, opposition party members and supporters must be prepared to sacrifice self-gain for the greater good, especially when it comes to candidacy in the 14th general election.

“If you are loyal to the party, even a decision to put a cat as a candidate should be accepted. Because this is the decision that was made,” Syed Badli told The Malaysian Insight.

“It has been discussed for a long time, for sure the leadership has taken in many views. A concrete decision still has to be made. In politics, one cannot please everybody.”

Syed Badli, 33, is the secretary of Angkatan Muda Keadilan Selangor and is one of a few young faces in PKR rumoured to be named as a candidate in GE14 to stand against Titiwangsa MP Johari Abdul Ghani.

However, sources have told The Malaysian Insight that the seat is likely to fall to Bersatu and will be contested by former Ideas director Wan Saiful Wan Jan.

Earlier this month, PKR Beruas threatened to boycott PH if the Pengkalan Baharu state seat in Perak is handed over to the Bersatu candidate for GE14.

Syed Badli urged politicians in the opposition pact to put the greater good above their own ambitions, and to trust the directives given by their leaders.

“I don’t lobby for seats. I am always fighting for the organisation. If I get to stand, it means I carry the name of Pakatan-PKR. If I’m not a candidate, that’s ok, I will help where I can.

“For example, if the Titiwangsa seat is given to our partners Bersatu, I will help there because that’s what we have to do to support our organisation. We shouldn’t throw a tantrum because somebody else is chosen as a candidate.”

Reformasi child

Syed Badli was a teenager when the Reformasi movement was sparked in 1998, following the sacking and jailing of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.

He said Anwar has, and still is, his political idol and a leader who will fight for the rights of the people.

This respect he still holds for Anwar motivated him to continue supporting the jailed leader’s party PKR, even throughout its many ups and downs.

“Anwar is my main inspiration to fight for truth and justice. Watching the people rise up has taught me the meaning of a government, which is one that is chosen by the people and a government cannot suppress the rights of the people.”

He said that when Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was once Anwar’s nemesis, was named chairman of Pakatan Harapan and later, as the coalition’s prime minister candidate, he was initially angry.

“If you want to talk about anger, I’m the one who should be very angry because I was one of those who experienced the 1998 Reformasi. My own house was renovated so that we could hide reformists in my home.”

However, once the leadership made the announcement of Dr Mahathir’s position, Syed Badli said he accepted it and continued to support the coalition.

He said he now wants to look ahead to how the opposition pact can work together to achieve its goal of toppling the government. – March 29, 2018.

Sign up or sign in here to comment.

Comments

  • “If you are loyal to the party, even a decision to put a cat as a candidate should be accepted“. Loyalty is one thing. The next question is : To what are you being loyal? DAP is clearly race based, neither democratic nor active. A party based in the irrational whims of the Lim family. Bersatu, the UMNO clone with UMNO ideology, where every racist decision will be made by others than the elected members. No democracy, no human rights.....end of story. Amanah, the PAS clone with no ideology on anything but Islamist. PKR.????....who, what, why?.???

    Posted 6 years ago by Dennis Da Menace · Reply

    • Hey righteous tommy. When did you last hear the ‘racist’ Malays slagging off the Chinese or the Indians. Now go to the places where the Chinese have a voice. There you will find the perfect and righteous Chinese slagging off everyone...including their racial peers. Then of course there is racist Bersatu and religionists Amanah and racist DAP and Islamist PKR. You don’t get much more racist than that. People in glass houses should not throw sones. So next time you open your mouth try thinking for yourself instead of repeating the toxic blab the Lims implanted in your brain



      Posted 6 years ago by Dennis Da Menace · Reply

    • their dumb fucking failed affirmative action policies of the last few decades are racist, to begin with. for "religionists" look no further than those islamic extremists PAS, and for racial supremacists look no further than UMNO. other than that your comment is utter garbage. and what are 'sones'? are you so fucking dumb that you can't even spell a simple five/six letter word? yawn, come up with better comments ya dumb fuck.

      Posted 6 years ago by Tommy richard · Reply

    • Woi !!! menace, your comments and arguments are so hollow. Waste of breath in Tommy educating you. Welll what to expect from you who graduate from Umno University. Have some pride and juz shut yourself up instead of contaminating the sanctity of the intellectual forum in his site. Go home and sleep it off and BRIM shall come soon.

      Posted 6 years ago by Lee Lee · Reply