KUALA LUMPUR – Illness did not stop both Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz and veteran activist Haris Ibrahim from delivering fiery speeches in support of Pakatan Harapan (PH), during the Segambut constituency’s final campaign rally in Taman Tun Dr Ismail today.
Rafidah, a former Barisan Nasional (BN) cabinet member, told those gathered that she was suffering from a severe bout of long-Covid-19 that caused her to be in considerable pain.
While, Haris who founded the Asalkan Bukan Umno movement, was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in April this year.
Despite not having held a government position since 2008, Rafidah said the reason she was present was because:
“You cannot retire from your political commitment and convictions, you cannot retire from serving your country.”
She went on to take a swipe at Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who has adopted the moniker of ‘abah’.
“If you really were the father of this country you'd be building the country and not destroying it,” she said with her signature sharp-tongued wit.
On why, despite being in constant pain, she was out to support Yeoh, Rafidah answered simply: “I support Hannah because she is right.”
Haris, who appeared short of breath throughout his speech, nonetheless managed to deliver a stirring address that received roaring cheers from the crowd.
Addressing voters experiencing apathy following the Sheraton Move, Haris said that feeling pain and frustration was understandable but he sternly warned against allowing it to overwhelm oneself as “that’s what they (BN and PN) want.”
The outspoken lawyer also directed his fury towards “traitorous” politicians, saying that it was incumbent upon Malaysians to “get rid of that woman from Ampang and get rid of that pariah from Gombak,” in reference to Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin and Datuk Seri Azmin Ali.
He also called on Segambut voters to give their PH candidate, Hannah Yeoh, an even larger majority to send a sign to the party’s leadership that Yeoh deserved a position in the cabinet.
In concluding his speech, Haris delivered a line that received the most applause from the crowd:
“Yes I am fighting cancer, but I will fight Umno-BN to the very end.”
Tomorrow, Yeoh will face BN’s Daniel Ling Sia Chin and Prabagaran from PN. They will contest for the support of 119,652 Segambut voters. – The Vibes, November 18, 2022.
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