Rafizi: I accept defeat, but would Azmin have done the same if he had lost?

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 — Rafizi Ramli has graciously accepted defeat in the party polls, but said that he doubts Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and his supporters would have been able to do the same had the results been otherwise.

Rafizi said Azmin’s loss would have had a bigger impact, given the latter’s role as a senior minister in the Pakatan Harapan government.

“This is coupled with his tenure as deputy president for two terms, as well as being a former mentri besar. If he had lost to an unemployed person, it would have become an excuse to directly retreat from the political limelight,” Rafizi said in a statement.

He also noted that Azmin’s staunch supporter (and Sarawak PKR information chief) Vernon Kedit lodged multiple reports with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over membership in the Julau division until PKR personnel were arrested by the MACC.

“I am certain if re-elections were to take place in Julau (with a strong possibility I would win) a character like Kedit would drag the party all the way to the Registrar of Societies and court. In the end, as the Malay saying goes, menang sorak, kampung tergadai (win the battle but lose the war).

“Should the strife resulting from the party elections be prolonged past the National Congress this weekend, its burden will be borne by our president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who will be accused of being unable to lead the party and criticised over the perception that he cannot discipline the lower leadership,” Rafizi said, adding that Anwar’s capability as the eighth prime minister would then be questioned by others.

He said he did not jump into the reformation bandwagon with the intent of seizing power, but instead is genuinely interested in seeing a better future for the ordinary rakyat since he came from an impoverished family in Terengganu.

“I am confident if we bring about the change that upholds reformation idealism as how we have struggled for it, the rakyat’s fate will become much better.

“And I am also confident that the best person to see this through is Datuk Seri Anwar as the eighth prime minister,” Rafizi said, adding that in his opinion, there were no winners or losers in the party polls.

“We all win if we repent and become resolute in strengthening the reformation idealism by serving the rakyat under Datuk Seri Anwar, and we all lose if those who have been entrusted only see their positions as a stepping stone in pursuing their own selfish interests,” he said.