Bersatu sacks ex-foreign minister for contravening party's constitution, did not specify offence

Bersatu have sacked Saifuddin Abdullah, the former foreign minister of Malaysia, from the party.

On Jan. 6, Malaysiakini reported that a disciplinary board had made the decision about Saifuddin, who was also a member of the party's supreme council.

Saifuddin supposedly contravened the party's constitution, but the party did not specify his offence.

He said he would be making an appeal.

A political career of twists and turns

Saifuddin started his political career as a member of Umno and the Barisan Nasional, but switched his affiliation to Anwar Ibrahim's Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) in 2015 over the 1MDB scandal.

His move would later be rewarded with a ministerial post after PKR and the Pakatan Harapan coalition won the 2018 general election.

However, Saifuddin would not remain loyal to the PH after the "Sheraton Move" in early 2020, when another PKR member Azmin Ali and his supporters were expelled from the party. He then joined Bersatu, which took power after PH fell.

Saifuddin was given the communications and multimedia portfolio when Muhyiddin Yassin became prime minister, and served as foreign minister again under Ismail Sabri Yaakob. He lost his government role when the Perikatan Nasional coalition (of which Bersatu is a member), lost power in the 2022 general election.

Following the loss, Saifuddin made a number of public statements opposing Bersatu leadership, such as calling for Muhyiddin to resign as party president and for Azmin to resign as secretary-general, citing "morality" in the latter's case.

He also publicly objected to the sacking and suspension of other Bersatu MPs while Muhyiddin was in charge.

Related story:

Top image via YouTube.