Rafizi dropped from PKR congress speakers’ lineup after listing ‘error’?

KUALA LUMPUR – PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli and other newly elected leaders will not deliver their winding-up speeches at the party’s national congress tomorrow, after initially being scheduled to take the stage. 

It is understood there had been a mistake made to the tentative programme, which would have seen the incoming post-holders deliver speeches. 

The Vibes was however informed by sources that the eleventh-hour change is not due to error. 

When contacted, PKR central leadership council member Sivarasa Rasiah said it has been a decades-long practice for the party to allow the outgoing office bearers to address delegates. 

“Since PKR’s establishment, this has been the case. It has never involved the incoming post-holders,” he said. 

When asked why the names of Rafizi and the other newly-elected leaders were mentioned in the original congress agenda, Sivarasa said there had been a mistake. 

The programme list, which was distributed to the media yesterday, had allocated Rafizi to speak at noon tomorrow, just before party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was to deliver his address. 

The four new vice-presidents, as well as the incoming women and youth chiefs, were also initially scheduled to speak. 

However, a party insider told The Vibes a last-minute change was made to the list of speakers during a central leadership council meeting chaired by Anwar and attended by the outgoing office bearers last night. 

Sivarasa confirmed discussing the matter during yesterday’s meeting, which was also attended by, among others, secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and party advisor Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. 

It is unclear whether the change to the speakers was actually down to error, but a source believes it could also have to do with the brewing tension between Anwar and Rafizi’s camps. 

Members of the two factions have been locking horns since Rafizi announced his candidacy for the deputy presidency, going up against Saifuddin, who is known to be a close ally to Anwar. 

The Vibes is awaiting the final list of speakers for tomorrow, although it is understood that outgoing post-holders like vice-presidents Tian Chua and Michael Teo will be among them. – The Vibes, July 16, 2022