PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli has slammed Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin over the ongoing debate on whether Pakatan Harapan (Pakatan) will work together with Perikatan Nasional (PN) during the 15th General Elections (GE15).
On Sunday (Aug 28), Muhyiddin called for a political ceasefire among the opposition to fight the common enemy – BN – in GE15, which may be held sooner than later.
The next day (Aug 29), Rafizi said Pakatan had already decided the week prior not to work with any other party or coalition during the upcoming elections, prompting Muhyiddin to say that this was merely Rafizi’s “personal opinion”.
To this, Rafizi simply said: “The one who became PKR deputy president and sits on the Pakatan presidential council is me. (But) the one who knows about Pakatan’s decisions is him?”
In a statement today, Rafizi, 45, chided Muhyiddin for looking down on young people like him, saying despite being involved in PKR’s leadership since he was in his 20s, Muhyiddin still sees him as a “snot kid”.
Rafizi claimed this is because, in PN, the role of “young people” like him is not to make decisions but merely to follow the lead of those much older than them.
The former Pandan MP further alleged that PN leaders are “experts” in “backdoor negotiations”, a subtle jibe at PN taking over from Pakatan in 2020 in a move that has been often referred to as a “backdoor move” since PN did not win the elections.
“They don’t respect or accept the official position of other parties because they believe they can deal with certain characters that have the same interests as them,” Rafizi claimed.
“They are proud of this backdoor negotiation culture that turns their backs on these other parties because it is this culture that allowed Muhyiddin to become prime minister.”
He added: “They do not respect the mandate, the choice of the people or the choice of the grassroots of the party. They do not respect democracy.”
Final decision
Rafizi reiterated that any decision to end any discussions about working with PN is the Pakatan’s presidential council’s final one on the matter.
“The decision is that Pakatan will strengthen this coalition and go into GE15 as Pakatan. Full stop.”
If there were still leaders from Pakatan’s component parties – comprising PKR, DAP, Amanah and Sabah-based United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO) – that wanted to continue such discussions with PN, those would be personal ones.
Even so, such discussions would not hold sway or change the views of the Pakatan presidential council on this.
“If Muhyiddin is confident that there will be a second Azmin within Pakatan, that is also his right,” he quipped, referring to former PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, who has been credited as being one of the masterminds of the Sheraton Move.
Rafizi added that it would be better for Muhyiddin to openly declare that PN wants to work with Pakatan for personal interests (instead of national ones) and power because “we are not stupid despite being young”.
For PKR and Pakatan, they will continue to convince the public about their efforts against corruption, eradicating hate and race-based politics and bringing new ideas to solve the problems of the people, according to Rafizi.
“If we become the Government (after GE15), we will govern with our principles and approaches,” he said. “If we remain the opposition, we will ensure that the Government will not rob the rakyat of their money.”
Taking this approach would be more dignifiable rather than “teaming up just to get power”, Rafizi added. – Aug 30, 2022
Main photo credit: CNBC
