Claiming there were some senior PKR leaders who had mocked Anwar’s ability to be prime minister, Rafizi said such actions must stop.
“We can have differences in opinion but not on who the eighth PM should be.
“Some are saying that his (Anwar’s) time is up and that the party should let new blood step in. All this must stop now,” Rafizi said in his winding up speech at the PKR National Congress here.
Whatsapp messages ridiculing efforts to make the PKR incoming president the next prime minister have been making the rounds.
This is not the first time Anwar’s much-publicised ascension to the prime minister’s post has come under the spotlight.
In August, Kapar MP Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid said there were elements attempting to stop Anwar from becoming the next prime minister, and named Daim Zainuddin as among those out to stop the PKR leader.
The remarks drew condemnation from PPBM leaders. Abdullah has since apologised.
In September, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he would honour the agreement among Pakatan Harapan (PH) partners that he would serve as interim prime minister for two years before handing over the reins to Anwar.
In his speech, Rafizi also said that what sets PKR apart from other parties was the fact that its strength lies in the difference of opinion among its members.
“Our strength is not in our similarities, but our differences. Carrying the same objective, our differences act as different strengths. This united strength was the reason for our victory.
“Therefore we must defend and respect our differences which separate us from the divided Umno, divided PAS, where our party will never be divided no matter how bad our differences are.
“We learn to control our differences in a polite, educated manner that doesn’t go astray from our initial struggles,” he said.
Rafizi also reminded PKR leaders in the Cabinet not to stop fighting for the people.
He warned that a failure to serve the people would likely result in Pakatan Harapan losing in the 15th general election (GE15).
He said the party and incoming PKR president Anwar Ibrahim would then be blamed for it.
“To my friends in the ministries, please don’t go to your ministerial meetings and not talk about the people. You must continue to defend the people, if not then the blame will fall on Anwar and the whole party,” he said today in his winding-up speech at the PKR National Congress here.
He was talking about how Anwar would be facing a big challenge when he becomes the eighth prime minister, and it would require party members to support their leader by fulfilling the party’s initial struggle of reform and defending the people.