Sarawak PKR secretary Mahmud Epah said the people’s mandate and votes are not meant to be toyed with or discarded when personal ambitions go unfulfilled.
“Voters cast their ballots in good faith, trusting that he would serve a full term, and his decision to abandon the constituency midway is a grave insult to the nation’s democratic institutions.
“How can individuals who openly and shamelessly betray the people for personal interests be considered or elevated as future leaders?” he said in a statement.
Mahmud also said that such “reckless” actions at a time when Malaysians are struggling with the rising cost of living prove that Rafizi is more concerned about publicity and personal positions than the welfare and stability of the constituency he was elected to serve.
Rafizi and Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad yesterday announced that they would take over Parti Bersama Malaysia, quit PKR, and vacate their parliamentary seats.
Rafizi said Bersama would contest elections independently and would not align itself with any political coalition. The party will also position itself as a multiracial platform which contests seats across political divides, he said.
Rafizi also said that he and Nik Nazmi were not driven by positions or titles, but by a need to push for political change, which he said could not be achieved solely through electoral victories.
Rafizi and Nik Nazmi resigned as economy minister and natural resources and environmental sustainability minister, respectively, in May 2025.
This came after Rafizi lost the PKR deputy president’s post to Nurul Izzah Anwar in the party elections. Nik Nazmi, his running mate, also failed to retain his vice-presidency.
Rafizi’s ties with the PKR leadership turned frosty after the PKR polls in May 2025, and he has since been publicly critical of the government and the party.
He previously hinted at leaving PKR after Parliament is dissolved to defend his Pandan seat, and survived an attempt to remove him as Pandan PKR chief at the division’s annual general meeting in April.