PM-Opposition meeting opens door to new politics - Saifuddin

KUALA LUMPUR: The meeting between newly-appointed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and the leaders of the opposition Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition yesterday can be described as the first important step towards nurturing a culture of new politics, said Perikatan Nasional Pahang chairman Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.

The former Communications and Multimedia Minister said that he had begun talking about new politics since 2006 when he wrote a book titled 'Politik Baharu'.

"I started discussing new politics since 2006. It is an idea that awaits implementation. Of course I understand the dynamics of realpolitik. But I still have to soldier on with this idea," said Saifuddin in a tweet on his official Twitter account today.

Yesterday, Ismail Sabri held a meeting with Opposition Leader and PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) president Mohamad Sabu dan DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng. The three parties make up the PH coalition.

The one-hour meeting among others focused on finding a common ground to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the book, Saifuddin said it is divided into two main parts with the first section talking about the need to abandon old political ways which are negative like the politics of ingratiation, the politics of slander and the politics of votes.

In the new politics, Saifuddin said it is cleaner and fresher like the politics of knowledge, the politics of wisdom and the politics of service which should all be practised in the country.

Saifuddin, who is also Pahang Bersatu chief, said part two talked about political change happening at a higher level and abandoning political differences which are too adversarial so much so it turned political opponents into bitter enemies

"I urge the practise of 'new governance framework' as the basis of negotiations based on the spirit of development partners among three main sectors namely the government, business and civil society. In this context, the meeting between the Prime Minister and the opposition leaders yesterday is very significant," he said.

-- BERNAMA