PETALING JAYA, May 7 — PKR vice-president Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin took a swipe at Rafizi Ramli, who is running for the party’s deputy presidency, by saying that party members who "want to win in 10 years” should vote for him.

Shamsul claimed, in contrast, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, who is Rafizi’s opponent in the contest for the post of PKR deputy president, would ensure a win "now”.

"If you want to win in 10 years’ time, you should vote for Rafizi. If you want to win now, vote for Saifuddin,” he said as part of his speech for the #KitaSemuaKeadilan launch at the MBPJ Civic Centre today.

His comments also referred to a recent claim by Rafizi’s ally Nurul Izzah Anwar that Pakatan Harapan (PH) in its present condition could only hope to win back Putrajaya in 10 years’ time.

Shortly thereafter, Rafizi announced his return to politics to "save PKR”.

PH lost heavily in the last three state elections, as Barisan Nasional stormed to landslide victories in Melaka and Johor, while Gabungan Parti Sarawak tightened its grip on Sarawak.

Rafizi, who left active politics in December 2019 to concentrate on his start-up business, will be vying for the PKR deputy president’s post for the second time next month. In 2018, he lost to Datuk Seri Azmin Ali but was appointed party vice-president.

The former Pandan MP will be going head-to-head with Saifuddin to serve as deputy to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who retained the PKR presidency uncontested.