"Wan Fayhsal In Hot Soup?" Slammed By Own Party Colleague, Now Facing RM10mil Defamation Suit!

"Wan Fayhsal In Hot Soup?" Slammed By Own Party Colleague, Now Facing RM10mil Defamation Suit!

15 Mar 2024 • 5:30 PM MYT



JK Joseph
Repentant ex-banker who believes in truth, compassion and some humour

Fiery Bersatu Youth Chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal. Credit Image: Sinar Daily


It never rains but pours, they say. Perhaps, that would best sum up the dual dilemma faced by Bersatu Youth (Armada) chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal, a fierce critic of PM Anwar’s unity government, both in the Dewan Rakyat and in social media!


The Machang MP, a graduate from the United Kingdom, is well known for his often over-the-top criticism of the Madani government for its alleged incompetence in managing the country's economy resulting in high inflation and the plummeting ringgit.


However, last week he found himself “on the ropes” after being slammed by his own party colleague over the “missed opportunity” relating to pop queen Taylor Swift’s blockbuster Eras Tour which would have brought enormous economic benefits to the country.


Apparently, it all started last week after the party’s legal and constitution bureau deputy chairman, Sasha Lyna Abdul Latiff, hit back at Wan Fayhsal for stating that she had “no authority” to issue statements on behalf of the party over Malaysia’s failure to secure Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour to be held locally.


For context, he had earlier strongly denied that Bersatu leadership had ever discussed the matter, adding that Sasha, whom he dismissed as being somewhat a junior leader in the party, was merely giving her personal views on the matter.


Probably, irked by the Bersatu Youth chief’s belittling remarks, Sasha had then retorted by posting in her “X” platform that what she had said was basic economic sense, and common sense as well; she added that, as such, Malaysia must not miss out on such a highly profitable concert tour which was also eyed by other countries in the region.


She further reminded Wan Fayhsal, who often blamed the unity government for the country’s economic woes, that even Indonesia, the biggest Muslim-majority country in the world had targeted Swift to perform in their country for obvious economic benefits, adding that if Indonesia was prepared to host the pop icon's concerts, why shouldn’t Malaysia?


Sasha also appeared to have the last say on the matter when she “schooled” her party youth chief by urging him to put aside all his meaningless political grandstanding and place the country’s economy first. (In other words “walk the talk!”)


And if the open rebuke by his junior colleague was not bad enough, last Friday (March 8) FMT had quoted Wan Fayhsal as saying that he will be defending himself in court for the alleged defamatory remarks he had made against Farhash Wafa Salvador, PM Anwar’s former political secretary.


According to the report, Farhash, the former Perak PKR chief, has sued Wan Fayhsal for RM10 million in defamation damages for implicating him in alleged attempts to get opposition MPs to support the ruling unity government.


In his statement of claim filed with the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, Farhash had claimed that the Bersatu MP had made defamatory statements about him during a press conference at Parliament on Nov 14 last year, implying that he had colluded with an individual known as “Datuk Botak” to offer bribes or threaten MPs in an attempt to gain support for PM Anwar.


Responding to the report, Wan Fayhsal had lamented that the Madani government was always trying to stifle the opposition whenever it sought to expose the unity government's mistakes and weaknesses.


In truth, the Bersatu Youth leader is no stranger to making controversial statements and only recently came out in full support of Teo Kok Seong, a former professor who was alleged to have uttered racially-provocative words in a TikTok video by insinuating that Chinese vernacular schools bred racism.


In fact, last year, he had also caused a stir by vowing to support any bill tabled in parliament which would ensure that the country’s prime minister is always a Malay-Muslim.


Yet oddly, only recently, his party president Muhyiddin Yassin had announced during a Perikatan Nasional lawmakers and state reps convention that the coalition needed the support of non-Malays in order to gain the necessary majority to form the next government.


The PN chairman had added that, as such, Bersatu had to be more inclusive by being fair and caring towards other races too. But will the outspoken young politician heed his party president’s advice and refrain from hurting the feelings of the minorities in the country?


Ironically, back in 2022, during Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s tenure as the prime minister, Wan Fayhsal actually used to be the country’s deputy national unity minister!