Editor’s Note: Pandan MP Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli has described the latest attempt by his detractors to link the recent syringe attack on his son to PM9 Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin (KJ) as a malicious attempt to divert attention.
Instead, Rafizi confirmed that a week before the attack, he had met with a whistleblower regarding a scandal that he was investigating.
“The information provided is about Datuk Seri Farhash Wafa Salvador, the former political secretary to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the dealings of his companies,” he exposed on his latest Facebook post.
“It has nothing to do with DS Ismail Sabri, KJ or any other politicians. I’ve contacted DS Ismail Sabri and fully support his decision to file a police report regarding this piece of false news.”
MANY people shook their heads in dismay, saying this is worse than the underworld, even worse than loan sharks.
I’m referring to the incident where Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli’s young son was injected with a syringe threatening AIDS – vicious and despicable!
When in conflict, the underworld and rivals usually try to resolve matters through negotiation. If talks fail, they may issue threats – but they do not target children.
Loan sharks, when collecting debts, also go after the debtor. The harsher ones may harass family members – splashing paint, pasting threatening notices – but I have never heard of injecting a child with a syringe.
As the saying goes, even thieves have their code of conduct. Bad people too have a bottom line. Otherwise, they’re not human.
But Rafizi’s young son was dragged out of a car in broad daylight by helmeted masked men and injected with an unknown liquid from a syringe.
After that, Rafizi’s wife received a text message warning her to “keep quiet or else, AIDS,” followed by three syringe emojis.
High-profile exposes
It has yet to be confirmed whether the liquid contained HIV but the shadow of fear will haunt the child and his family for a long time, perhaps for life.
This is no ordinary crime. Almost everyone believes it is politically related. The masked men were likely hired thugs.
Behind them, there could be be someone else with a specific motive – to intimidate and warn Rafizi through this act.
Since resigning as a minister, Rafizi has become one of the boldest political voices. He criticises government policies, exposes cases of abuse of power and corruption, even revealing names.
He reveals the failures and wrongdoings of the unity government for all to see and also exposes dirty dealings within PKR to the public.
Because of Rafizi’s revelations, some people’s political-business connections have been forced into the spotlight, making them retreat temporarily where their interests were affected.
For that, they hate him to the core. Even when PKR was still in the opposition, Rafizi already had bitter enemies within the party.
PKR at the lowest ebb
And I’m not referring to Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail or Nurul Izzah Anwar.
When PKR came to power, conflicts grew worse and irreconcilable. Rafizi and his faction later lost in the party elections and it is said that certain hidden manoeuvres played a role.
Rafizi himself suspects his son’s assault is linked to information he recently obtained from a whistleblower – the very person he has been exposing relentlessly these past two months.
Rafizi can give up his position and resign voluntarily; he has also faced court cases before and is unafraid of prison. He cannot be silenced, cannot be bought over and cannot be intimidated.
Since his enemies couldn’t deal with him, they turned their attacks toward his family. This is the lowest of the low – something one might expect only in lawless countries ruled by gangs and drug cartels.
Yet it has now happened in Malaysia, showing how degraded our politics has become. What’s worse, it involves PKR – a party that claims to stand for justice and fairness and yet is riddled with dirty power struggles.
As the party’s founder and president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim waves the banner of reformation and anti-corruption yet has failed to build a disciplined party.
PKR is perpetually plagued by in-fighting and factionalism with power abused for personal gain. This is Anwar’s inescapable responsibility.
Anwar’s way of appointing people is often misguided, placing trust in the wrong individuals. This has led to endless scandals, turned PKR into a liability, and fuelled factional rivalries – dragging what was once a promising party into chaos and decline.
Whether PKR can still be saved depends largely on how Anwar handles this incident. He has the authority to direct the police to fully pursue and arrest the attackers, and to investigate the masterminds behind them.
He also has limited time left to clean up corruption within PKR, build an honest and transparent team and lead the party on a new path. If not, PKR has no future. It will fail by voters and suffer a humiliating defeat. Anwar will not have a second term. – Aug 20, 2025
Tay Tian Yan is deputy chief editor of Sin Chew Daily. This opinion editorial first appeared in MySinchew which is the English version of the Sin Chew Daily’s news portal.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
