Saying he was disappointed with the resignation but respected it, the PPBM Youth chief added that he was aware of threats against Kamarulazman, a teacher, and his wife, by certain quarters.
“I know that you were intimidated by people from the ministry before this, and that in fact your wife was also threatened,” he said, without giving details of the alleged perpetrators.
In a statement, Syed Saddiq added that problems in Negeri Sembilan, where Kamarulazman was asked to be the state chairman, might have also taken a toll on him.
Syed Saddiq said the party which was founded in August last year was not perfect and its financial situation during this period had not been stable.
“We cannot afford to offer paid positions to our members,” he said. “I myself am not paid by the party, and I have to seek income from my personal work to finance my political career.”
Kamarulazman, who was PPBM supreme council member and its Teluk Kemang division chief, had cited disappointment over the direction of the young party.
He said it had been hijacked by former Umno members who were looking solely for power and position.
He claimed that 821 other members nationwide had expressed their intention to resign and would announce the move at a later date.
In the same statement, Syed Saddiq said his appointment as PPBM Youth chief was not due to cronyism and that he had never attempted to flatter chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad for favours.
The 25-year-old former debating champion said if there had been cronyism in the party, he would not have been chosen as one of the seven co-founders, as well as the youth chief and supreme councillor.
He said he had rarely met Dr Mahathir and the other leaders before joining the party, and had not tried to please them (“bodek-membodek”) to put himself in good light.