Former economy minister Rafizi Ramli said he will not be initiating a lawsuit against Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil for allegedly spreading inaccurate news about Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama).
Rafizi claimed that filing a lawsuit would play into the hands of his former party, PKR, which he alleged was seeking to bog him down in lengthy court proceedings.
“Actually, if I were to sue (Fahmi), I would definitely win.
“But I also know that (this) is partly because they want me to sue them, because when you initiate legal proceedings, you are tied to a court case for years,” he said on the latest episode of his Yang Berhenti Menteri podcast last night.
“When I’m stuck in court, I can’t campaign... They know that the best way to slow me down is to tie me down,” the former PKR deputy president added.
Previously, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad - who is a Bersama co-leader alongside Rafizi - highlighted on X that the TikTok account of Fahmi, who is PKR information chief, had reposted a video uploaded by user “MayaAlesya".
The video claimed that Rafizi had “bought” Bersama for RM8.6 million, questioned the source of the former Pandan MP’s funds, and accused him of harbouring ill intentions against PKR.
Nik Nazmi, a former PKR leader himself, pointed out that Fahmi’s sharing of the allegedly slanderous content contradicts the Communications Ministry’s tagline “Tidak Pasti Jangan Kongsi”, which warns social media users against sharing unverified information.
Rafizi had said on May 17, during the launch of the political endeavour, that Bersama co-founder Tan Gin Theam had willingly handed over the party as part of efforts to improve the nation’s political landscape, and implied that no money changed hands.
‘Maybe PKR’s system is slow’
During his podcast, Rafizi also questioned PKR secretary-general Fuziah Salleh’s denial that members were leaving the party en masse for Bersama.
He suggested two possible explanations for the discrepancy: that many members who joined Bersama had not formally registered their resignations from PKR, or that PKR’s membership system had yet to process their exits.
“Even until now, I myself have not received the e-mail verifying my exit,” he said, adding that PKR’s Adil application is plagued by technical weaknesses as well as poor user interface and user experience design.
According to Rafizi, roughly 29 percent of 21,000 Bersama members - or around 6,000 people - are formerly from PKR.
To address the issue, he said Bersama would submit monthly membership lists to PKR headquarters to facilitate the removal of members from party records.
On Thursday, Fuziah rejected social media claims that thousands of PKR members had flocked to Bersama.
“Our Adil application, the online platform where members apply to leave the party, did not register significant numbers. Only less than a thousand had left since (May 16),” she told Free Malaysia Today.
Exodus or no?
On May 18, Rafizi and Nik Nazmi vacated their parliamentary seats and quit PKR, joining Bersama the following day.
This fuelled speculation that PKR lawmakers linked to the duo would follow suit, but Rafizi clarified that their moves were carefully planned to avoid triggering the collapse of the federal government.
Nevertheless, several PKR leaders subsequently announced their resignations, while the party’s Pandan Youth division was allegedly dissolved after 19 committee members stepped down.
Last Sunday, PKR Youth chief Kamil Abdul Munim demanded party leaders who attended the Bersama launch to explain their presence.
“If they do not take such steps and allow this matter to persist, they should not be upset if some party members continue to question their actions,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama. - Mkini
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