Deputy Higher Education Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, who has been criticised by his colleagues and Umno supporters for questioning the assault against George Soros, clarified that he does not support the  Jewish billionaire or Suaram.

"I'm not supporting Soros or Suaram. I'm not defending Soros or Suaram. I only stated my view from the perspective of new politics, that is the politics that is based on knowledge and intelligence.

"Our politics is too adversarial, to the extent of creating hostility among ourselves," Saifuddin is quoted as saying by Malay daily Sinar Harian today.

He said political discussion should be upgraded to a higher level because the outcome of the 13th general election will depend largely on the middle class, comprising young voters and professionals.

"According to studies, they make up 30 percent of the voters, and they make their judgment based on ideas and policies. They are not interested in excessive political attacks.

"They understand that politics includes assaults and attacks, but they don't like it when it is excessive, such as personal attacks and passing judgment publicly before conviction through legal means," he explained.

Last week Saifuddin told Mal aysiakini that allegations that Soros has launched an attempt to set up a puppet regime in Malaysia may backfire on the BN.

'Should promote the products of BN'

The Umno supreme council member said he was more keen on promoting the "products" of BN rather than criticising Pakatan Rakyat, Soros or human rights NGO Suaram.

However, Saifuddin's statement has drawn flak from his colleagues and Umno supporters, including Muhammad Zahid Md Arip, the leader of Kelab Tolak Individu Bernama Anwar Ibrahim (Tibai), who accused Saifuddin of behaving as a liberal to protect his own political interest.

Muhammad Zahid told Sinar Harian that Saifuddin's statement has shown that he has no confidence in Umno and BN retaining power in the next general election, so he wanted to "buy life insurance" from the opposition by portraying himself as a liberal leader.

Also today, Utusan Malaysia quoted Ramlan Abu Bakar, president of Gerakan Reformasi Malaysia (Reformis), which is another pro-Umno group, as reminding Saifuddin not to play "two-faced politics".

Ramlan called on Saifuddin to resign for failing to differentiate between national security and political issues, which was the most important ability a politician should have.

"For a long time, Saifuddin has had the tendency to befriend with people who should be the enemies. He prefers to take the safe road because he has no strong stance in politics," Ramlan told the Umno-owned newspaper.

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