Zaid (left) and Saifuddin.
PETALING JAYA: Tread carefully, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah has been warned by Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who joined PKR in 2009 but left a year later.
"I was in a hurry to be a leader of Pakatan Rakyat and paid the price. He should be more careful," the former law minister told The Star Online.
Although Saifuddin, who on Thursday announced that he was joining PKR, would be a great asset to the party, Zaid said he was less convinced that he could make the Opposition pact stronger.
"Even (former Opposition leader Datuk Seri) Anwar (Ibrahim) could not do that," he said, and advised Saifuddin to play it safe in his new party.
Zaid was referring to the time when he decided to contest for the PKR deputy presidency despite being a newcomer.
He later withdrew his candidacy, alleging fraud and electoral misconduct by his opponent, Azmin Ali.
Zaid subsequently resigned from the party in November 2010, saying he had lost confidence in the PKR leadership.
Zaid was a former Minister in the Prime Minister's Department overseeing legal affairs and judicial reforms under Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He resigned from the post after criticising the detention of several people under the Internal Security Act in 2008.
Saifuddin, before joining PKR on Thursday, was facing disciplinary action in Umno for attending a round-table discussion by the Opposition on the rebirth of the coalition as Pakatan Harapan.
However, Zaid believed Saifuddin would not end up like him.
"No, he is a better politician so he is more adept. Anyway, situations have changed," he said.
Saifuddin had on Thursday said he joined PKR because he felt that he did not fit in with Umno and Barisan Nasional, and that he was attracted by PKR's multi-racial model.
Related story
Saifuddin: I’m attracted to multi-racial model of PKR
