KUALA LUMPUR – Rafizi Ramli’s principles to not cooperate with other parties under a “big tent” approach in facing the general election may have been the deciding factor as he secured a somewhat surprising victory for the PKR deputy presidency, said a party lawmaker.
Selayang MP William Leong said the win against Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail – seen by many as Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s preferred choice for the number two post – showed party members were convinced by the ideas carried by Rafizi.
“If we look at what Rafizi has been talking about during campaigning, he wanted the party to return to its original objectives and ideology, and he was against the big tent. This was one of the defining issues in the election race,” he told The Vibes today.
I think what happened was party members have spoken and shown preference for the direction taken by Rafizi. It is really about the party going back to its roots.”
Throughout the campaign period, Rafizi had on several occasions said he was against the idea of working with other parties outside Pakatan Harapan (PH), and that the key to ensuring victory was to strengthen the party internally in a bid to regain public support.
Saifuddin, on the other hand, appears more open to cooperating with other political outfits, saying such an approach will increase the coalition’s chances of returning to Putrajaya.
According to Leong, Rafizi’s entry into PKR’s top leadership will help the party re-establish its distinct identity, which he said has been lost throughout the years after it began working with Bersatu and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad prior to the last general election.
This, he said, is due to Bersatu’s race-based nature being the opposite of PKR’s ideal of multiracialism.
“I think it’s important for us to go back to that identity, that we are a multiracial party with Malay-majority leaders and grassroots that will ensure the Malays won’t lose out, but similarly champion the non-Malays.
“Since 2018, I think this is where we have not been able to prove the narrative that multiracialism is the only way to go in this country.”
New party leadership line-up ‘very encouraging’
Rafizi cemented his return to active politics after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus by defeating PKR stalwart Saifuddin with a staggering majority of more than 19,000 votes, according to unofficial results released yesterday.
His faction members also secured three of the four vice-president posts in the recently concluded PKR polls.
For Leong, the make-up of the new party leadership is very encouraging, as it sees a blend of younger leaders with fresher ideas and old guards with experience.
He also commended all candidates for ensuring a rather peaceful election process that lacked the tensions and infighting of 2018, which saw the eventual defections of a number of top leaders, including former deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
We saw how Saifuddin conceded defeat and offered an olive branch to his opponent. This is a very good sign and exactly what we need in the party.”
Wangsa Maju PKR chief Andre Lai said Rafizi’s victory is an indication that grassroots members longed for a change in the party’s leadership.
“Rafizi has been travelling nationwide to provide an explanation of his plans for PKR. His Ayuh Malaysia campaign (to persuade Malaysians to come out to vote in the general election) is seen to be more realistic and people-friendly.
“(His election) shows grassroots want change. We must present a fresher line up of leadership with new ideas,” he said in a statement yesterday. – The Vibes, May 30, 2022
