GE15 | Rafizi Ramli would be the first to concede that he and Anwar Ibrahim disagree on numerous issues, with the most recent being the choice of candidate for the Sungai Buloh parliamentary seat.
However, it appears that when it comes to Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, there are adhesive properties which bind the PKR pair to the same page.
Speaking to Malaysiakini, Rafizi (above) stressed if there is one thing Anwar and he agree on, without room for compromise, is that Pakatan Harapan should never enter into a pact with the Umno president.
“Yes, Anwar and I have our differences. But this is something we agree on. The issue of working with Zahid does not arise at all. In brief, it is a non-starter,” he added.
The PKR number two is confident that Harapan could win the people’s mandate in the Nov 19 general election and return to Putrajaya following its unceremonious departure from the administrative capital just 22 months after the 2018 election.
“The political dynamics have changed,’ Rafizi said, referring to how there was an escalation in support for BN in several by-elections, as well as the Malacca and Johor state polls, which led Zahid to pressure a dithering Ismail Sabri Yaakob to call for a snap general election.
In March’s Johor election, BN captured 40 out of the 56 state seats to reclaim the birthplace of Umno, which fell to Harapan in the previous national polls.
Even the rain clouds of the monsoon season did not deter Zahid from insisting on a general election and the objective, his rivals claimed, was to pervert the course of justice in his corruption cases and to prevent him from being put behind bars, like the former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.
‘Support for BN has eroded’
However, Rafizi suggested that Ismail Sabri had dragged his feet for too long and Zahid’s “strike when the iron is still hot” stratagem might not bear the desired results.
He claimed that support for Umno-BN has since eroded, and this in turn increased Harapan’s prospects in the general election.
“We can now win our own mandate without having to partner with other parties,” he added.
Responding to a question on DAP not ruling out working with Umno, an alliance none would have predicted similar to when Lim Kit Siang, Anwar and Dr Mahathir Mohamad sat at the same table as allies, Rafizi reiterated that the situation has changed.
“Over the past months, the momentum is with Harapan and the leaders are optimistic that we can secure our own mandate.
“Working with Zahid and Umno would be a betrayal of this mandate,” he added.
Furthermore, Rafizi pointed out, the PKR election had sent an empathic message to the leadership on the significance of safeguarding the party’s founding principles.
“The grassroots have spoken, loud and clear. They would rather be in the opposition than see PKR sacrifice its principles in exchange for power and positions,” he added.
PKR, originally known as Keadilan, was forged in the flames of the Reformasi movement after Mahathir sacked Anwar from the government in 1998. Its ethos was social justice and eradicating corruption.
The PKR polls, from April to July this year, witnessed the return of Rafizi to the forefront of national politics, after a long hiatus, with a thumping win over Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, who was seen as Anwar’s pick to be his second-in-command.
‘PN and GTA behind false narrative’
Meanwhile, Rafizi accused Perikatan Nasional, which is led by Muhyiddin Yassin and Abdul Hadi Awang, and Mahathir’s Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) of co-authoring the false narrative that Harapan would align itself with Zahid.
According to him, the plan is to disrupt Harapan’s support among the non-Malay and urban voters, who would be opposed to ties with Umno.
In multi-cornered fights, Rafizi noted, the lion’s share of the votes would be for the two top contenders, Harapan and BN, and this posed a crippling disadvantage to the outliers.
“So PN and GTA are hoping to upend this pattern. They would continue to push this narrative despite the repeated denials. I hope the voters can see through this,” he added.
Yesterday, both Anwar and Zahid denied there is an agreement between them after Mahathir raised the issue.
Mahathir claimed that the Harapan leader promised to clear the Umno president’s corruption cases and free Najib from prison in exchange for their support for Anwar to be prime minister.
Last week, Hadi had claimed that certain quarters in Umno were undermining BN’s chances in GE15 to allow Harapan to win the election and put the purported Anwar-Zahid pact into motion. - Mkini
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