PKR Faces Internal Feuds As Rafizi Quits

All eyes on are PKR’s implosion in Selangor, with the party’s Strategic Director Rafizi Ramli quitting his post as chief executive officer of the Selangor Economic Advisor’s office and throwing the party into turmoil.

Rafizi could be the first big casualty of the power internal struggle taking place among the party’s second rung of leaders. We have reported earlier that party deputy president Azmin Ali calls the shots and wants to remove Nurul Izzah as a potential rival.

That may not please her mother, who is married to Selangor’s Economic Adviser. We already know that aside from being the rival of Nurul Izzah’s mother, Azmin Ali also has issues with his own mother. Rafizi has no mother issues as far as we know. But something sinister is afoot inside PKR.

Rafizi had held the his Selangor post since opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was appointed State Economic Advisor in 2009, but he shocked the party on Thursday by writing on twitter that he had tendered his resignation.

Strangely, he directed all inquiries about his resignation to either the Selangor government or Anwar himself. That is odd.

In a one-paragraph email response, Rafizi said he made the decision as he was unable to cope with his office duties and party work. “Unable to cope?” Just ahead of GE 13?

“I quit my job in Selangor as chief executive of Selangor economic advisory office. Tired of juggling this job and party work,” he was quoted by Free Malaysia Today.

Tired? It looks like fatigue is setting in long before GE 13 all across Pakatan ranks. After all it was the “fatigued” Hadi Awang who threw in the towel and said he would not contest in GE 13. Now Rafizi is “tired?”

Given the political dimension of his role within PKR, and his position as arguably the party’s most eloquent and civilised debater, questions are being raised about the real reason for his resignation. Was Azmin taking action against a potential rival? Was Rafizi a victim? Did he jump, or was he pushed out? And what role, if any, did Anwar have in all of this?

Rafizi meanwhile tried to dispel all doubts. He said he needs to rest, is too tired, fatigued.

“Resigning is a normal process. (I) need rest. (It’s) too tiring to work for both the state and the party. Ramadhan is near. (Need) to focus on “ibadah”,” he claimed on twitter.

“I never stay more than two years at a particular job. This one has exceeded two years, time to move on. No political dimension to it,” Rafizi tweeted.

No political dimension? Just knackered?

Meanwhile, as the soap opera unfolded, Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim’s political secretary Faekah Hussin told the Sun daily via text message that “MBI (Menteri Besar Inc) has yet to receive any letter from Rafizi.”

A source close to Anwar also reportedly claimed that the party had yet to be in contact with Rafizi as he was not answering their phone calls. (He must be a very unhappy bunny if he is not answering calls from Anwar.)

This gets murkier and murkier. The PKR doesn’t know why its own Strategic Director has quit his state post? Rafizi is not answering calls? Clearly this is a political party that needs a strategic direction. Or perhaps group therapy.

Meanwhile, the pro-Azmin Ali camp in the party is reportedly keeping a watchful eye on the growing support of the ‘pro-Wan Azizah’ faction that wants a bigger role for Nurul Izzah. We wonder if Wan Azizah has conferred with the Economic Adviser of Selangor, who is also the political boss of Azmin and Rafizi.

A source in the party’s headquarters had told website Free Malaysia Today (FMT) last month that there are four factions within PKR, each trying to “take control” of the party for their personal agenda.

The most dominant “teams” are the Anwaristas – Anwar’s hardcore supporters – and Azmin’s supporters. Anwar and Azmin. (A & A are a memorable pair, soon to explain to our legal system their hand gestures and video appearances during the breach of Dateran Merdeka.)

Besides A & A, the remaining two camps are the smaller ‘pro-Wan Azizah’ and ‘pro-Parti Rakyat Malaysia’ factions. The latter group is allegedly led by former party deputy president Syed Husin Ali.

Rafizi has clearly fallen between the cracks, with no strong support from either faction.

He was expected to make his electoral debut in GE 13, but this latest twist in his career may well see him sidelined in the run up to the election. Who knows, maybe he will become the thinking man’s Hasan Ali in PKR.

Source: The Choice

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