KUALA LUMPUR – In an apparent swipe back, PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail accused Rafizi Ramli of now exaggerating his rationale for leaving active politics in December 2019, only to make a surprise return to run in the upcoming party polls.
Rafizi, who is presently a party vice-president, recently claimed that he had taken a break from the political arena because former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad disliked him. He reportedly said that this could have affected the transfer of power to PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when Pakatan Harapan was in government.
Saifuddin said this reasoning could not be further from the truth as Dr Mahathir’s relationship with Anwar was unaffected by someone like Rafizi alone.
“Anwar and Dr Mahathir are both long-time friends and adversaries. Even while Rafizi was studying, the differences between the two leaders were publicly known.
“For Rafizi to say that he stepped aside because he did not want to be a problem (for the transition) – he has positioned himself too highly.”
Saifuddin said this during an interview with The Vibes at PKR’s headquarters in Merchant Square, Petaling Jaya yesterday.
Saifuddin and Rafizi are set to clash over the deputy president’s post in the PKR election next month.
The Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP also said that Rafizi has underestimated the Anwar-Dr Mahathir relationship, which he said was “complex” and stretched decades before Rafizi was active in politics.
“Their relationship will not grow stronger or be affected because of Rafizi. For Rafizi to say he stepped down because he did not want to inconvenience the party is too exaggerative.
“I don’t think we should place ourselves as very big figures (in this issue) as it has reached a maximum level of exaggeration.”
On Sunday, Saifuddin had taken Rafizi to task for claiming that it was he who offered Saifuddin the secretary-general’s seat.
He said Rafizi may have been “misinformed” if he thought that it was due to him that Saifuddin assumed the post in 2016 and also got appointed as a strategic adviser in the Penang chief minister’s office in 2017.
He also dismissed Rafizi’s claims that he was jobless in 2013 after failing to win the Kulim-Bandar Baharu seat in the general election that year. Saifuddin eventually won the seat in the 2018 polls.
Rafizi had earlier also claimed that Saifuddin had gotten the job in Penang due to a working paper he had submitted to the Penang government.
Saifuddin maintained that the position of secretary-general was offered to him by then PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail because Rafizi was preoccupied with court cases, and needed time and space to fight his legal battles.
Power to appoint with president, not Rafizi
Asked to elaborate on the matter yesterday, Saifuddin said Wan Azizah had believed that Rafizi was overburdened by his court cases while serving as the PKR secretary-general at that time. Compounding his hardship, Rafizi had to also contend with his duties as Pandan MP at that time.
“She used her wisdom in offering sympathy and empathy for Rafizi who was fighting cases while being Pandan MP,” he said.
“The secretary-general’s post is the engine room of the party. So I was appointed by Wan Azizah to ease Rafizi’s burden.”
Saifuddin stressed that based on the party’s constitution, the prerogative to appoint the secretary-general is the president’s, not the incumbent holding the seat.
Saifuddin also again rubbished Rafizi’s claims of having been behind his (Saifuddin’s) Penang government appointment in the chief minister’s office by coming up with a working paper on the matter.
He said Rafizi, in fact, “did not have a good relationship” with the then chief minister Lim Guan Eng, who was also DAP secretary-general at the time.
“Rafizi has a combative character when compared to me who is more accommodating and flexible,” Saifuddin said.
“My relationship with our coalition partners was more harmonious, and although having combative characters is important in a party, Rafizi never had a good relationship with Guan Eng.
“The working paper is truly an extraordinary figment of imagination that Rafizi came up with and did not happen at all,” he added. – The Vibes, April 26, 2022
