WITH Rafizi Ramli officially announced as the new PKR deputy president, an analyst urged party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to take a backseat and allow the former to lead the team towards the 15th General Election (GE15).
“In my view, Rafizi should lead PKR for the upcoming general election while Anwar plays an advisory role instead.
“Leave it to Rafizi. Besides, he has proved his capabilities by being one of the key players who led Pakatan Harapan to an electorate win in 2018,” Arunachala Research & Consultancy Sdn Bhd (ARRESCON) principal consultant R Paneir Selvam told FocusM.
In the recently concluded PKR congress, both Rafizi and Anwar threw shades at each other but ended the gathering by showing a united front.
At first, Rafizi called out those close to Anwar and accused them of apple-polishing the party supremo, leaving the latter only hearing “sugar-coated stories ” instead of hard truths.
In return, the Opposition Leader told Rafizi to use proper channel to voice his criticism instead of saying things in the open.
“He knows his focus, his role. He is no longer Rafizi di pinggiran (on the sideline). The person you were talking about just now is Rafizi di pinggiran. (But) today’s Rafizi is in party top leadership.
“So, he must accept this fact, because I will be delegating many important duties to him. He will be responsible (for the party) directly,” the Port Dickson MP was reported a saying.
Touching on the matter, Paneir Selvam opined that Rafizi has fortitude and the right mindset to ensure PKR wins back lost support following the infamous Sheraton Move.
He added that Rafizi also won public admiration after taking a break from active politics as a protest on how former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was running the country after 2018.
With a new line-up helming the party, Paneir Selvam noted that the team is currently seen as untainted and not aligned to PKR’s former deputy president, Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
“PKR’s new line-up consists of young and dynamic leaders. If they do things right, it won’t be long before they gain more support.
“So, it’s very important for the old guards in PKR to not meddle and let the new team do their work,” Paneir Selvam mentioned.
Asked on how Rafizi can get DAP and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) leaders to regain lost support, Paneir Selvam said that it all boils down to how close the former is to his coalition partners.
“Rafizi shares good rapport with DAP and Amanah leaders. Besides, PKR is a key component party in the coalition and that itself will add some strength to negotiations.
“Besides, Anwar himself had said that he will never work with the corrupt, which is a clear signal on Pakatan’s direction.”
Bad times for Dr M “lovers”
On how the former Pandan MP would convince fringe elements within Pakatan who still have a soft spot for Mahathir, Paneir Selvam said those people risk getting sidelined by the grassroots.
“Look at what happened in the DAP party polls. The grassroots sent a clear signal of their displeasure to Mahathir’s supporters by voting Sungai Pelek state assemblyman Ronnie Liu to the central executive committee.
“The PKR party election also saw many senior leaders getting ousted for their association with the Langkawi MP.
“In any case, if these Pakatan leaders are still clamouring for Mahathir despite all that had happened, then I guess they are just too naïve and deserve to get isolated,” Panier Selvam quipped.
On Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari winning the PKR vice presidency despite his long time association with Azmin, the analyst said it looked like the former has moved on from the Gombak MP.
“I see that Amirudin has worked hard to distance himself from Azmin and party members have seen it. Perhaps, that’s why the grassroots elected him to the post.” – July 19, 2022
