PKR grassroots snub PMX as ring general Rafizi sticks to his guns on quitting Cabinet
COLD shoulder is what PKR president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim gets from his own party's grassroots as he made a last-ditch attempt to dissuade Economy Minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli from leaving the Madani government effective tomorrow (June 16).
In fact, his reasoning that he accorded Rafizi – the former PKR deputy president – and Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad leave to think over their decision to quit only invited ridicule from the pro-Rafizi faction which laments the death of the reformasi spirit.
I prefer Rafizi, Nik Nazmi rejoin cabinet – PM https://t.co/PG2xElyB8F
— malaysiakini.com (@malaysiakini) June 12, 2025
On May 28, Rafizi and Nik Nazmi resigned with honour as ministers after both failed to defend their deputy president and vice-president posts during the PKR central leadership polls five days earlier. Nik Nazmi's leave is until July 3.
The snubbing became more intense as Rafizi had on Friday (June 13) dropped by his office for one last time to clear his belongings alongside a tribute to five overseas-trained policy officers who will return to their respective fields.
Saya masuk ke pejabat buat kali terakhir semalam dan hari ini (Jumaat) untuk urusan-urusan terakhir, termasuk mengemas pejabat.
Saya ingin ambil kesempatan ini untuk memperkenalkan beberapa orang yang banyak membantu saya mengusahakan inisiatif ekonomi di bawah Kementerian… pic.twitter.com/MONvmoz64k
— Rafizi Ramli (@rafiziramli) June 13, 2025
A slap of the face of his party president was what Rafizi had done, insinuated one grassroots member, alluding to the act of Rafizi clearing his office a day after PMX persuaded him to re-consider his resignation.
'Nice move, Raf. Better to die standing than live kneeling,' he cheered.
Another learned PKR supporter chastised PMX and eldest daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar for their power-hungry prowess at the expense of the nation's progress.
'I hope both of you are happy being drunk with more power than before!! Look what you have done to the country's think tank!!' fumed the self-proclaimed engineer by discipline.
'YB Rafizi, Jalan terus (march forward) for you didn't lose them; in fact they have lost you! My utmost respect to you & your team, Sir! 🙏🙏🙏🙏'
Knowing that PMX's plea would not make Rafizi change his mind, the former's senior political secretary Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Akin did chip in to urge Rafizi and Nik Nazmi to remain in Cabinet by consoling the duo to 'berjiwa besar' (magnanimous) in accepting defeat rather than 'to sulk' due to anger.
However, a brickbat flung his way when he was accused of being 'hypocritical' by Tuaran PKR division chief Razeef Rakimin who pointed out that Shamsul was among the earliest to voice support for Nurul Izzah to challenge Rafizi for the deputy presidency.
'If Shamsul had wanted Rafizi to be berjiwa besar, this should have started at the beginning of the party election when Anwar as our party president asked for Rafizi to be given an easy path and be maintained as his deputy,' chided the Sabah PKR information chief in s statement cited by Malaysiakini.
'Since it was (your) intention to see Rafizi removed, I believe a PKR leader shouldn't be hypocritical after being successful in getting rid of Rafizi and several of his associates.'
Elsewhere, special officer at the Economy Ministry Thiban Subbramaniam offer these words to explain Rafizi's baldness:
'One thing about YBM Rafizi Ramli is that he's committed to his job. If he enters office at 8am, he only leaves the office at 11pm most of the time.
'Why is he getting bald? Because he uses his brain to go through each and every single thing to ensure the people get the best! He doesn't rely on others. That's his leadership style. ✌️' – June 15, 2025
I get to know Ben and James when I was at Ministry, this two brainy guys leave their high paid jobs just to rebuild the economy. They never stepped into politics but their hard works along with @rafiziramli set the benchmark. One thing about YBM Rafizi Ramli, he is committed to… https://t.co/Pw6T5g8Bip
— Thiban Subbramaniam 🇲🇾 (தீபன் சுப்ரமணியம்) (@Thiban_ben) June 13, 2025
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