Saifuddin: Friendly competition between Rafizi and me won’t ruin our friendship
PKR Secretary-General Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has described former Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli as his good friend and any competition between the two for the coming party elections wouldn't ruin their friendship.
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In an interview with Sinar Premium, Saifuddin said both he and Rafizi have their own unique skills and expertise that they plan to bring forward to the party.
“If you asked me of the chances (to win), of course, it wouldn't be easy as Rafizi’s influence in and out of the party is strong but in the party clause, there is a clause that every three years there is an election. So we can compete with our friends by giving opportunities to our party members to judge us based on our record and contribution.
“I am confident that if it is fated soon for me to make the announcement to contest for the deputy president post, my competition with Rafizi is a healthy one and it will give opportunities to party members to choose. It will not ruin our friendship.
“Whether I or Rafizi is chosen, I am confident that both of us will continue to be in PKR. We will not sit on the sides. I have proven this when I contested for the deputy president post against Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali in 2014, I lost but I'm still in the party till today, carrying out my duties as per usual,’’ he said.
However, Saifuddin insists that he and Rafizi are on good terms and dismissed assertions of intense rivalry between the two despite both competing for the same position.
“Rafizi is my good friend. When I was the (PKR) deputy youth chief, taking over from Datuk Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor who was in prison at the time, Rafizi was the Youth Exco and was working in London. When he returned from London, he was working with Petronas and we became closer.
“When Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was appointed as the Selangor Economic Advisor in 2008, he was appointed as a chief executive. At the time I was an MP and was made PKR secretary-general not long after.
“So our working relationship and friendship is very close, which allows me to understand and acknowledge that he is very talented and has many good ideas,’’ he said.
Saifuddin said this extended to the formation of PH running up to the 2018 general election where he and Rafizi worked together behind the scenes to propel the coalition forward.
Saifuddin also explains that he has been with the party since its formation in 1999 and have watched the party grow to 1.2 million members over a period of 20 years.
However, Saifuddin has yet to make an official announcement whether he would contest the deputy president post but stressed that he has ample time as the nomination for party elections is on April 8.
PKR losing its teeth?
Answering questions on PKR’s current position now after it had suffered defeats in two state elections, Saifuddin said the party remains strong despite suffering a few setbacks.
Saifuddin dismisses allegations that the party has lost support and instead linked back to past history where PKR's political opponents have often portrayed them as the weakest link yet the party has only moved from strength to strength.
“The perception that PKR has lost its teeth has been with us since April 1999. Losing our teeth or being the weakest in the coalition. Previously in Barisan Alternatif, we were called the weakest link, in Pakatan Rakyat, DAP and Pas are said to be more disciplined or more compact.
“After 2018, the same allegations were thrown at us that we have lost support. That is the label we received.
“If it is true that we have lost our bite, it should be proven in an election. Yes, there are some by-elections that we lost, some that we won but Bersatu and Umno are also the same. So I am not concerned one bit.
“We just see in the coming elections, whether I will win again or other PKR candidates will win again.
“We have been accused of being chaotic during the 2008 election but we won a lot of seats. The same goes after that (other general elections). So when faced with this question, I am not perturbed but always pointed back to the facts,’’ he said.
When asked whether PKR’s usage of its own logo in the recently concluded Johor polls had backfired, Saifuddin said the party's practice was not unique within the opposition.
“I agree that an opposition coalition must be compact and have the same policy, one manifesto and one clear leadership. One logo would help but it isn't everything.
“PKR is open to this idea. To say that we are obsessed with our own logo is not true. In the Melaka state elections, we used the PH logo but still lost and in Johor, we used our own logo and won one seat,’’ he said.
Saifuddin also stated that the relationship between PKR and PH remains strong as all parties within the coalition share the same core principles.
“I am optimistic as PKR and PH’s strength focuses on new politics that is based on the principles of justice, good governance, against corruption and abuse, a political coalition that acknowledges matters that have been agreed in the Federal Constitution, Islam as the official religion of the state, to recognise the position and role of the Royal institution, Bahasa Malayu as the official language and Article 153, the special rights of the Malays and Bumiputera rights of Sabah and Sarawak.
“We made this as the basis of the coalition and practised inclusive politics. Parties that put forward this basis, in the context of PKR and PH, is a sustainable coalition,’’ he said.
