A process to screen these potential candidates was already in place, he said at a town hall meeting here as part of his Ayuh Malaysia campaign.

“We won’t get it 100% right but I’m sure we won’t have someone like Azmin Ali this time around,” he said in reference to his predecessor who had led a faction out of PKR leading to the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government in 2020.

Rafizi had been asked by a town hall participant about what the party was doing to select “quality” candidates and how PKR would ensure they represented the people.

A few days ago, Rafizi had announced that PKR was opening up its GE15 candidates’ list to Malaysians from all walks of life, in a bid to widen its talent pool. He said he was expecting 10,000 registrations.

Police report over arms deal

On a separate matter, Rafizi played down the police report lodged against him by a deputy minister. He said he was “okay” as there was enough evidence to link Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz to the firm awarded a contract to procure self-propelled howitzers for the army.

“I will definitely furnish all the evidence,” he said, adding that the allegations had been making the rounds for a few months.

Ikmal Hisham has denied the allegations, which he said were meant to tarnish his image.