COMMENT I first met Saifuddin Abdullah slightly over a year ago, when I was asked to go to Temerloh to cover what was called a "consultative council". You can be pardoned for not knowing exactly how such a council works, because Saifuddin was the only politician doing it at the time.

Then Temerloh MP and a deputy higher education minister, Saifuddin sported nothing more elaborate than slippers and a loose shirt when he greeted me at a regular "kampung" restaurant.

The man was a strong advocate of ikan patin, the trademark Temerloh dish, so much so that at that night, he was actually throwing a treat to all village heads and community leaders in Temerloh.