“MR Rafizi, you are a man with honour and integrity. To me, you are an exemplary citizen. I am glad to see someone who were educated at the same secondary school as I was, would live up to his ideals. I will continue to support you in your fight to make this country a better place for everyone.”
Such is one of perhaps tens of thousands of accolades that accompany the Facebook post of Economy Minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli as he announced his decision yesterday (May 28) to step down from his ministerial portfolio given the loss of his deputy presidency means he no longer has PKR’s mandate to translate its agenda into government programmes.
Currently clearing his leave, he has set June 17 to be his last day in office.
At the time of writing, that FB post alone has garnered a staggering 42K likes, 14K comments and 4.9K shares, majority of which praised the Pandan MP for his heroics by “walking the talk” (when he expressed his desire to resign), hence living up to his principle as a leader with integrity.
Judging from the moral support accorded to Rafizi – which presumably have come from the PKR and for that matter, Pakatan Harapan (PH) grassroots – one wonders if the underlying disgruntlement that have been openly expressed since it was announced that Nurul Izzah Anwar has won the deputy prescient race would boil over in light of the next national polls slated for 2027.
If this happens, thinning faith in the newly-elected PKR leadership coupled with concerns over the fading Reformasi spirit within the party can probably spell disaster to the ruling PH coalition by virtue of PKR holding the steering wheel via its president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Former The Star environment section editor Andrew Sia joined the chorus of applause for Rafizi who is touted as a “think tank MP” (by virtue of him having founded pollster Invoke Malaysia) with the gesture “PMXI💪🏽👍🏼”.
“Thank you for keeping up the struggle for Reformasi … Hope you can return to clean up this country,” penned the now Malaysiakini columnist.
“A dignified move unlike certain politikus who continues to hinge onto their post as Senator despite having lost (an election).”
Over on X, Rafizi’s decision to step down was greeted with expression of anger towards the current leadership with one seemingly pro-opposition commenter respecting his decision “cause you walk the talk” but teasingly remarked that she had searched in vain for Nurul Izzah’s comment.
Another self-proclaimed critic praised him for “having the balls” while others described him “as still having spine and integrity” which makes him a “genuine reformist” as they reminded the PKR president and Rafizi’s successor Nurul Izzah that divine intervention a.k.a. karma is on the way as they are bound to reap what they sow.
Rafizi’s resignation post had at the time of publication generated 968.7K views with 9.6K likes, 928 comments and 7.3K shares.
At the end of the day, a pro-Madani government backer summed up best with “Red flag 🚩🚩🚩” that “something is not right within the entire PKR structure and organisation”. – May 29, 2025
Dua menteri daripada KEADILAN yang CEMERLANG meletakkan jawatan pada hari ini.
📌 @rafiziramli daripada Kementerian Ekonomi.
📌 @niknazmi daripada Kementerian Sumber Asli dan Kelestarian Alam.Apa maksudnya di sini? Maksudnya, sesuatu yang tidak betul ada dalam struktur dan…
— Amer Hamzah (@amer7211) May 28, 2025
