PKR may not be ready for radical change - Rafizi on political comeback
With PKR’s party election set for April, there have been growing calls for Rafizi Ramli to make a comeback to politics and contest for a leadership post again.
Before he withdrew completely from politics at the end of 2019, Rafizi had been an influential figure in PKR and was considered one of party president Anwar Ibrahim’s closest advisors.
With PKR’s party election set for April, there have been growing calls for Rafizi Ramli to make a comeback to politics and contest for a leadership post again.
Before he withdrew completely from politics at the end of 2019, Rafizi had been an influential figure in PKR and was considered one of party president Anwar Ibrahim’s closest advisors.
He was also well-known for exposing several scandals related to the previous BN government.
Rafizi’s supporters are now urging him to come back to PKR, but the former Pandan MP said he has many considerations to take into account before deciding on his return to politics.
“I haven’t decided, but I do pay attention to the public and the party who make pleas for me to reconsider.
“I will consider and consult my stakeholders, including God,” Rafizi quipped to Malaysiakini yesterday.
Among the considerations, he said, is that he has to ensure it is worth returning to politics as his party and its allies may not be receptive towards his “radical” approach and ideas.
“I want to make sure that (my return to politics) has an impact towards nation-building, and it is worth the time and sacrifice.
“I have to be realistic that I am very radical in my thinking, that most of the leadership of PKR and its allies will not feel comfortable with my approach and ideas,” Rafizi said.
He added that he has to be practical on whether he can influence the course of the impasse between PKR and its allies as some of the obstacles are structural.
Against the backdrop of such a political landscape, he said he has to truly consider whether he would be better off serving other causes as his energy can also make a difference in other spheres of nation-building.
“I was never interested in public office, and when I want to do something, I want to do a good job.
“If realistically I know there are structural issues that the net effect is negligible, compared to making a difference in other ways for nation-building, that is something that I have to weigh carefully,” he added.
PKR elites might feel threatened
Rafizi said the last time he committed to politics for 10 years, between 2009 and 2019, he had to forfeit a good career, spend millions of his life savings and nearly went to jail for a long time.
Though he does not regret that decision as he felt he was able to make a difference, he now believes a lot has changed in the political scene, specifically with how things are within PKR and Pakatan Harapan.
“To commit at this junction means I have to forfeit and risk everything again when I am not too sure whether there is a readiness among the elites of PKR and its allies to live with my approach, intensity of campaigning and my no-nonsense character – which many of the elites feel may be threatening to their own status quo.
“It is easier for other politicians (to consider rejoining politics) because they will be rewarded.
“The consideration is slightly different for me,” he added.
When Rafizi announced he was quitting politics in December 2019, he intended to focus on his new business in artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.
But even before then, there were signs that he was slowly withdrawing from politics.
The former lawmaker did not contest in the 14th general election (GE14) in 2018 after the Shah Alam Sessions Court imposed a 30-month jail sentence on him for leaking confidential banking details belonging to the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) in March 2012.
After GE14, Rafizi failed to unseat incumbent deputy president Azmin Ali in the PKR party polls in the same year. He was later appointed as a vice-president but had remained low-profile.
While he still occasionally comments on current events and politics on his Twitter account, he stresses that these are his opinions as a private citizen.
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