Shots Continue to Be Fired on PKR Internal Election Day
by RADZI RAZAK
EVEN as ballots are cast in Parti Keadilan Rakyat's (PKR) leadership election today, tensions at the top continue to flare, with both president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and deputy president Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli (picture) exchanging veiled shots in a contest that has spilled beyond party halls and into public view.
Speaking to reporters after voting at Berjaya Waterfront this morning, Anwar was asked about criticisms levelled by Rafizi during the latter's 'Hiruk' campaign — particularly over the controversial candidacy and rise of Datuk Seri R. Ramanan, a former MIC member now contesting for one of PKR's vice-president posts.
'It's okay, we'll bring it up in a meeting,' Anwar replied calmly, choosing to deflect the issue into the party leadership meeting.
He explained that while he signed off on Ramanan's candidacy, the approvals came via due process, handled by the party headquarters.
'If I approved some but rejected others, that would be a problem. So, everything that came to my desk, once the headquarters vetted, whether the person was bankrupt or had misconduct issues, I approved them all. So, there's no issue,' he added.
Rafizi, however, was not backing down.
I will be here tonight
With less than an hour until polling ends, Rafizi arrived at the Berjaya Waterfront Hotel to cast his votes, sparking a brief commotion as he was swarmed by media personnel eager to get his reaction.
'I will be there tonight, and I will also attend tomorrow. Why would I not attend?' he told reporters today.
In a series of statements and a Facebook post earlier today he accused Anwar's camp – and specifically Nurul Izzah Anwar, his challenger for the number two position – of compromising the party's reformist ideals by working with factions he described as being 'obsessed with money and positions.'
He further alleged that these were the same groups Nurul Izzah had once expressed concern over.
According to Rafizi, during a meeting on May 20, Nurul had confided in him about her unease with the party's emerging leadership lineup, describing 'them' as politically expedient, self-serving, and not aligned with PKR's original vision.
'I am not good at playing two sides,'
'I've always been clear inside and outside the party about my discomfort with these groups. They do not represent the reform movement that PKR was built on,' he said on the statement on his social media.
The Pandan MP argued that these same groups had campaigned aggressively against his allies in this party election and now, ironically, he was being asked to 'stay and fight them from within.'
'If Nurul Izzah is truly concerned about these practices, she should not have aligned herself with them just to win,' he added.
Rafizi also answered Nurul Izzah claims yesterday saying that the party leadership was informed Rafizi had written a resignation letter earlier, during a brief leave in April and the Economy Minister's office is 'empty'.
'I never packed up. My office is still messy, full of files. After my four-day leave, I returned and resumed my ministerial duties as usual,' he said.
In a timeline of events he released today, Rafizi claimed the resignation narrative had been spun deliberately to justify his removal from party leadership, and to smooth the path for Nurul Izzah's candidacy.
PKR secretary-general Fuziah Salleh – whose team organised the congress in Johor Bahru has attempted to cool the temperature.
'PKR was not built on comfort. It was built on struggle. Please don't let that legacy sink because of internal politics,' she told delegates yesterday, just hours before the vote.
As members cast their ballots — physically in Sabah, Sarawak, and Johor, or virtually via the ADIL app — one thing is clear: the battle for PKR's soul is far from settled. And win or lose, the post-election healing may be even harder than the campaign.
Results are expected to be announced tomorrow night.
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