Rafizi reminded his former officer that positions were temporary, and that once entrusted with the job, he must give it his all and diligently carry out his responsibilities.

He also urged Akmal to ignore both his fawning supporters and fierce critics, saying only sincere work held true weight at the end of the day.

“The praises and criticism of people does not help us. Only sincere, good work will earn us rewards at the end of the day.

“If we’re careless and untrustworthy on the job, we will end up being trapped. But if we’re hardworking and sincere, our work will be impactful,” he said in a Facebook post.

Rafizi also endorsed the Johor Bahru MP for his former Cabinet post, describing the PKR leader as a persistent, shrewd and hardworking politician, having worked with him since 2009.

He also congratulated Ledang MP Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh on his appointment as deputy natural resources and environmental sustainability minister.

Akmal and Syed Ibrahim were in Rafizi’s corner during the PKR elections in May, which saw the Pandan MP losing the party’s deputy presidency to Nurul Izzah Anwar.

Akmal lost the Johor Bahru PKR chief’s post in the party’s divisional elections but was elected to the PKR central leadership council along with Syed Ibrahim.

Rafizi stopped short of commenting on Syed Ibrahim’s appointment, saying he would do so on his “Yang Berhenti Menteri” podcast at 9pm tomorrow.

Analysts saw Akmal and Syed Ibrahim’s appointments as an attempt by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to manage factional balance within PKR, particularly after Rafizi quit as economy minister after his party election defeat.

Pundits said Anwar was being intentional about not sidelining any group in his party by still giving those aligned with Rafizi “space” in his Cabinet.