'Syed Saddiq did not lead group asking for Waytha's resignation'
Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman did not lead the Bersatu Youth (Armada) delegation which handed a memorandum to the prime minister seeking for the sacking of his fellow minister P Waythamoorthy yesterday.
Instead, the Bersatu Youth chief was at Dr Mahathir Mohamad's office for a cabinet meeting and had merely accorded the delegation access into the premier's office to pass the memorandum, said Armada's information chief Ulya Aqamah Husannudin...
Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman did not lead the Bersatu Youth (Armada) delegation which handed a memorandum to the prime minister seeking for the sacking of his fellow minister P Waythamoorthy yesterday.
Instead, the Bersatu Youth chief was at Dr Mahathir Mohamad's office for a cabinet meeting and had merely accorded the delegation access into the premier's office to pass the memorandum, said Armada's information chief Ulya Aqamah Husannudin (above).
Speaking to Malaysiakini, Ulya confirmed that the memorandum was for the prime minister to consider Waythamoorthy's position in the cabinet as the minister in charge of unity and was "in line with the voices of the party's grassroots and the public at large."
Mahathir is also Bersatu chairperson.
Yesterday, Malaysiakini had reported that Armada had handed the memorandum, which among others, said that Waythamoorthy as the minister in charge of unity had allegedly failed to contain racial tensions over the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman temple issue and for having blamed the police for allegedly not handling the issue well.
The Hindraf chairperson was also cited for failing to apologise over a 10-year-old video clip of him criticising the alleged discrimination against ethnic minorities particularly Indian Malaysians.
Syed Saddiq's presence at the memorandum handing event had incurred the wrath of Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy who claimed that it had insulted Mahathir by questioning his wisdom in appointing members of his cabinet.
"Waythamoorthy might not be part of the Pakatan Harapan coalition but he was nonetheless appointed to be a minister on account of his contributions to the Indian community. It was the decision of none other than the prime minister.
"Isn't it an insult to Mahathir himself for asking Wathyamoorthy's resignation when it was he who appointed him? In other words, Bersatu Youth is questioning the decision and wisdom of its chairperson who is none other than Mahathir.
“It would not take long for someone to question Syed Saddiq (below) and whether he acted in accordance with the role expected of a federal minister," Ramasamy had said in a statement this morning.
Yesterday, Mahathir had said that it is up to him to decide whether Waythamoorthy should stay or go and that so far, the minister's performance was "okay".
Calls for Waythamoorthy to quit his post has been growing following the death of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim.
The 24-year-old was part of the Fire and Rescue Department team deployed in response to vehicles being torched by rioters outside the Sri Maha Mariamman temple on Nov 27.
According to the police, he was dragged out of the vehicle and assaulted.
Adib had succumbed to his injuries at the National Heart Institute (IJN) in Kuala Lumpur on Monday night.
Waythamoorthy is accused of having flamed tensions when he and three other ministers chastised police for their initial remarks blaming fighting at the temple on two Indian groups.
A social media campaign calling for Waythamoorthy to resign has gained almost 300,000 signatures so far.
