A year after announcing his departure from active politics, Rafizi said in a Facebook posting that some of those around Anwar are opportunists who bring with them a culture of gangsterism and money politics into the party.
“I told him two years ago,” he said. “Previously he chose Azmin (Azmin Ali), look what happened. The one (surrounding Anwar) now, is no different.” He did not name the person.
Azmin was Anwar’s right hand man for decades but eventually fell out with the opposition leader, and took a number of MPs and PKR leaders to join forces with PPBM president Muhyiddin Yassin.
Azmin had been PKR deputy president until his departure, and had defeated Rafizi in a contest for the deputy presidency at the party elections in 2018.
Rafizi said the person who is now close to Anwar had been nowhere to be seen in the past when others had struggled and went in and out of prison in a bid to free Anwar while he was imprisoned on a sodomy conviction.
“After (Pakatan Harapan) won in 2018, (this person) would camp outside Hospital Cheras every day. Suddenly, he became the party’s defender and the most loyal person to Anwar,” Rafizi said.
However, the actions of this new crowd could cause the downfall of the party and Anwar as well, he said.
He accused these leaders of targeting others who were a threat to them. One target was PKR Youth leader Akmal Nasir, who has been accused of criticising Anwar.
“People ask me why I’m uninterested. Don’t I pity Anwar? I am not the type to repeat myself. If the advice I give is ineffective, then let Anwar bear the risks of keeping opportunists around.”
He advised those who wish to ride on the party for their personal interests to leave him alone, saying that while he did not want to get involved, he hated such people. “If this species likes to cause trouble, I, too, can cause trouble.”
Rafizi was twice elected MP for Pandan but did not stand for re-election in 2018.
He was sentenced to jail in 2018 after he had brought the National Feedlot Corporation scandal to light, but his conviction was overturned in November last year.
He was also sentenced to jail in 2016 for breaching the Official Secrets Act by revealing an audit report on 1Malaysia Development Bhd but was placed on a good behaviour bond on appeal in 2018.
Rafizi and Azmin have both been involved in political manoeuvres that resulted in political changes. Rafizi was behind the “Kajang Move” in 2014, by which Selangor menteri besar Khalid Ibrahim was to be brought down for Anwar to take over. However it led to Azmin taking the post after Anwar became ineligible when he was convicted on a sodomy charge.
Azmin was implicated in the “Sheraton Move” in February this year, which led to the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan federal government led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad. A new government was formed by the Perikatan Nasional coalition, in which Azmin currently serves as a senior minister.