TONGUES are wagging especially within the camp of ousted incumbent PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli as to how unheralded dark horse Datuk Seri R. Ramanan who is very much perceived as an “outsider” could suddenly debut as the party’s vice-president for the 2025-2028 term.
For the record, the 44-year-old former MIC treasure-general who left the party in 2014 to join PKR post the Sheraton Movement in 2020 is joined by Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun, and Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang who retained their veep post..
“Who would have believed the Ramanan fairy tale?” penned industry observer Khalid Karim ARISE MALAYSIA (@khalidkarim) on X.
“A millionaire outsider joins PKR, slays a giant in his first PRU (General Election) – and now, after party polls, he’s the No. 4 in the party hierarchy. What a rise.”
One supposedly staunch PKR supporter fumed as to how Ramanan who defeated former health minister and UMNO renegade Khairy Jamaluddin for the Sungai Buloh parliamentary seat during the GE15 was able to topple Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister in the Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad in the veep race.
Another claimed that the PKR deputy information chief “boot-licked” his way up the party’s hierarchy while some reckoned that he was bold to bet on the right horse by pledging his loyalty to party president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim while rallying behind his daughter Nurul Izzah.
On that note, some teased that Nurul Izzah who has succeeded Rafizi as PKR deputy president can now bank on the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Deputy Minister “to deliver 80 seats for PKR” come GE16.
📌 Left MIC joined PKR 2020
📌 PRU15 candidate 2022 & won Sg Buloh seat
📌 Deputy Information Chief 2022
📌 Deputy Minister 2023
🤔
Ramanan Tiba… Ramanan Tiba…
🎼🎼🎼
Banyakkan bodek hari-harinya
Jawatan datang berlipat ganda
Berlomba-lomba untuk kaya
Dunia bahagia, kuasa… pic.twitter.com/3hdwkgxZrx— Madam K 🐈⬛ #AyuhMalaysia (@oreo_koshka330) May 24, 2025
I
One witty commenter played up the RR initial of “Rafizi Ramli” and “Ramanan Ramakrishnan” to express dismay of Rafizi being ousted while Ramanan “has arrived at the scene”. This could well be the beginning of the end, he insinuated.
A staunch Rafizi backer wanted to know who voted for the eldest grandson of the late Tan Sri Devaki Krishnan, the first woman elected to public office in the Malaysian history, given that he does not seem to possess ample grassroot support while “his involvement in policy issues is far from obvious”.
“Don’t tell me they believe in him that PKR can win 80 seats?” wondered the commenter.
At the end of the day, one commenter urged Rafizi to form a new party as Ramanan’s emergence “is such an insult to the public”.
“With the right strategy, you can seize Selangor while removing Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari (who, too, rallied for Nurul Izzah in the run-up to the PKR polls) from his MB (Menteri Besar) post,” counselled the netizen.
“Let @anwaribrahim & @n_izzah sink. The writing is already on the wall.” – May 256, 2025
