Saifuddin denies involvement with rumoured new party

Communications and Multimedia Minister, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah has denied that he was involved in efforts to set up a new party called Parti Keadilan Negara.

Saifuddin, the Member of Parliament for Indera Mahkota said, he only learnt of this matter when shown a Twitter posting of the organisation chart of this so-called new party by one of his officers yesterday.

"I only learnt about it from social media. I have no knowledge of the new party and was not involved in discussions about it. My officer showed me an organisation chart and said I was listed as the secretary-general,” he said.

Saifuddin told reporters this after inspecting facilities at the Felda Chini 1 Internet Centre here today, accompanied by Pahang Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) director Zahari Ismail, Pahang Telekom Malaysia general manager Datuk Zulfikri Hashim and Pahang Information director Mohd Salmun Mustafa.

He was commenting on social media reports that Senior Minister and International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali would be leading this new party, which purportedly has several other big names in its leadership line-up.

On another matter, Saifuddin said his ministry and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) had set up a task force under the Digital Economy Programme to enhance understanding and usage of online applications among the public and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The task force is jointly chaired by Saifuddin and his MOSTI counterpart Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar.

Saifuddin said society needed to be internet-savvy as the COVID-19 pandemic had made online apps part of the new normal.

"The pandemic was unexpected and suddenly many things are now conducted online. We have also asked the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to review the contents of courses under the ministry because we want more SMEs to participate.

"There are many success stories of SMEs which have started using the internet. For example, here I was told that some Mazola biscuit entrepreneurs who used to sell only 50 containers a month have now hit 500 containers monthly after promoting their products on social media,” he added.

Saifuddin said apart from business, many other aspects of daily life including learning and music had been increasingly linked to internet usage and digital applications in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis - BERNAMA