KUANTAN: PKR will not let Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah have an easy time in Indera Mahkota for his part in the Sheraton Move, says Rafizi Ramli.
The PKR deputy president called on voters in the parliamentary constituency to make sure Saifuddin loses in the 15th General Election (GE15).
"I usually don't touch on the opposing candidate but Saifuddin is special because I was the one who brought him into the party (PKR).
"I admit I was naive, a kid and maybe I was stupid. At that time, we wanted to strengthen Pakatan Harapan," he said during the Ayuh Malaysia tour here on Tuesday (Oct 25).
Rafizi said he got to know Saifuddin, the former chief of the Pakatan secretariat, when he was in Form Three since they went to the same school and were in the debate circle.
Rafizi described Saifuddin's character as always getting close to other people when it appeared they would be of benefit to him.
"Saifuddin once hated Khairy Jamaluddin and condemned him all the time but suddenly in 2008, when Saifuddin became a candidate, he became BFFs (best friends forever) with Khairy.
"When he lost in Temerloh in 2013, Saifuddin knew there would be no place for him in Umno if he remained.
"He started attacking Umno then and the public viewed him as being brave and having the soul of a reformist.
"His political career was over at that time and... he started getting close to us. I felt then that if he was actually a reformist within Umno, he would have left in 1999 and not draw close to Pakatan (only) after losing Temerloh," said Rafizi.
However, Rafizi said he presumed the best of Saifuddin then and brought him into PKR.
He said when Pakatan was established in 2015, they needed a secretariat chief who was neutral and an outsider, and Saifuddin fit the bill.
"I have never asked anything from voters in all the places I have gone to campaign, but Indera Mahkota voters will be chastised by all Malaysians if you do not make sure Saifuddin loses in this election.
"We cannot allow these types of characters in our politics, jumping from party to party. If Pakatan wins in a month's time, I will not be surprised if Saifuddin will be among the first in line to come kiss this hand," he said.
Rafizi said it was not a matter of feeling betrayed although he once respected Saifuddin as a senior.
"His action in betraying the mandate of the rakyat is unforgivable. What is the worth of a person's dignity and good name when people will always remember him for taking Indera Mahkota as his own personal property to trade around," he added.
Before Pakatan, Saifuddin was an Umno member and served as Temerloh MP until his defeat by PAS' Nasrudin Hassan in the 2013 elections.
He subsequently quit Umno in 2015 to join PKR and won the Indera Mahkota parliamentary seat in GE14 with a 10,950 majority.
Saifuddin was appointed foreign minister in Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's Cabinet after that.
He was among those who joined Datuk Seri Azmin Ali's faction in quitting PKR during the political upheaval in early 2020 that led to the collapse of the Pakatan government.
After quitting PKR, Saifuddin found his way into Bersatu and is expected to lead Pahang Perikatan Nasional in GE15. - Star
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