Ketua Pemuda Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), Syed Saddiq tampil mempertahanan Ketua Eksekutif AirAsia Tan Sri Tony Fernandes berkaitan dengan isu sokongan terbuka terhadap kerajaan yang memerintah sebelum ini. Posting yang dikongsi di laman Instagram Ahli Parlimen Muar itu mendapat perhatian netizen dengan menerima lebih 79,000 likes dan lebih 3,000 komen. Beliau menggesa agar rakyat Malaysia membuka mata dan tidak berterusan menuduh Tan Sri Tony sebagai seorang pengkhianat.

Unspoken hero- Tony Fernandes. . . I’d like to share with you something i have been keeping to myself for a while now. I couldn’t share it before because we were imprisoned by the politics of fear. Activist, politicians and businessmen who were not in line with the ruling party’s ideology were threatened and pushed to a corner. . . I must share this now as i can’t stand witnessing a hero get wrongfully accused. . . This is a story that many don’t know. I had to keep it a secret, but in this new era, an era where your right to speak is being uphold, it is time for change. . . This is about Tan Sri Tony Fernandes. . . He was among the first persons that came to the aid of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin when Tan Sri was punished for speaking truth to power. . . He was once again a hero when AirAsia offered discounted flights and added flights during the election period. This infuriated some people in DS Najib’s circle. It became worse when DS Shafie’s (WARISAN) team uploaded a poster thanking this move as it meant that more WARISAN supporters can fly back home to vote. . . It didn’t stop there. He refused to fire Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz after she spoke openly against Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak despite being pressured to do so. . . He remained vigilant. . . Those actions came with a cost and he has to pay for it. . . He was pushed to a corner where he had to openly declare his support for the then ruling government. He had to take a video and his staffs had to change their uniforms. Pictures of the whole event were taken without the right context. . . Please Malaysia, don’t label him as a pengkhianat. . . This story is based on my own personal knowledge. TS Tony has helped us from the start, but can’t disclose it to the public due to the fear of repression. I leave it to the Malaysian people to judge. . . But what I can promise you is this.. the start of this new era will ensure that your right to openly criticise the government will be guaranteed. You can openly endorse opposition parties without the fear of being persecuted. . . We want a strong opposition. So businessmen, feel free to support any side. We are now living in a new Malaysia.

A post shared by Syed Saddiq (@syedsaddiq) on May 11, 2018 at 1:00am PDT

Menurut beliau tindakan Tan Sri Tony tersebut bukanlah atas kehendak beliau sendiri tetapi atas sebab desakan oleh pihak yang memerintah sebelum ini untuk menunjukkan sokongan terhadap mereka termasuklah dengan rakaman video. Tambah Syed Saddiq, pendedahan ini baru dikongsikan kepada umum kerana kini semua rakyat Malaysia bebas menzahirkan kebenaran tanpa perlu takut pada ancaman kerajaan yang memerintah.

Tekanan yang diterima oleh Tan Sri Tony tidak terhenti disitu sahaja apabila beliau turut menerima tekanan untuk menggugurkan jawatan Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz sebagai Pengerusi Bukan Eksekutif AirAsia apabila Tan Sri Rafidah mengkritik kerajaan pimpinan Datuk Seri Najib.

Menurut Syed Saddiq juga, Tan Sri Tony antara pihak pertama yang menghulurkan bantuan ketika Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin ditindas apabila membongkar perkara yang sebenar. AirAsia juga menawarkan tiket murah dan menambah bilangan penerbangan ketika PRU14 lepas demi memastikan anak rantau balik ke kampung halaman untuk mengundi.

Di akhir perkongsian tersebut Syed Saddiq memberi jaminan bahawa rakyat di bawah naungan kerajaan baharu kini bebas untuk mengkritik kerajaan memerintah secara terbuka dan bebas menzahirkan pandangan politik masing-masing tanpa perlu takut terhadap ancaman dari mana-mana pihak.