This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on September 25, 2015.

PUTRAJAYA: Former deputy minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, who attended a meeting of opposition parties on Tuesday, has tarnished the image of Umno, of which he is a member, a leader of the ruling Malay party said.

Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said Saifuddin may have attended the meeting in his private capacity and not as a party member, but this still raised questions over his motives. “There is a perception spreading now, because he was a former deputy minister and an Umno member,” Tengku Adnan told reporters in Putrajaya yesterday. He said Saifuddin’s presence at the meeting, where new opposition pact Pakatan Harapan was unveiled, had created a negative perception.

Saifuddin, known for his moderate stance in contrast to some other Umno leaders and for his collaboration with civil society groups, is chief executive officer of non-governmental organisation (NGO) Global Movement of Moderates. He attended the meeting in his capacity as head of the Youth Academy (Akedemi Belia). He has been issued a show-cause letter by Umno.

Tengku Adnan, who is also federal territories minister and secretary-general of ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN), said the matter would be brought to the Umno disciplinary board if Saifuddin failed to respond to the letter in 14 days. “If he doesn’t respond, I will submit a paper to the disciplinary board to call him in for questioning as well as to face action,” he said. However, he declined to comment on whether Saifuddin would be sacked from Umno.

Tengku Adnan also said Umno members should abide by party ethics and that Saifuddin’s actions were akin to going behind the party’s back. He said if Saifuddin’s argument was that he had been present in his capacity as an NGO member, the same reasoning could be used to justify Umno leaders’ presence at the controversial “red shirt” rally last week. — The Malaysian Insider