PKR polls: Rafizi is popular, but party members know me, says Saifuddin

SHAH ALAM - Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail is set to share the stage with Rafizi Ramli at “Pentas Berani Semuka” organised by Sinar Harian tomorrow to find out who is the most qualified senior leader to be PKR’s deputy president and help restore the party to its glory days.

The face-off between the two candidates was set to be aired at 3pm tomorrow and would be streamed live across all of Sinar Harian’s platforms.

Sinar Premium talked to Saifuddin to share his views ahead of the programme.

SINAR PREMIUM: How do you see the PKR 2022-2025 internal election situation compared to 2018?

SAIFUDDIN: I see the PKR election this year was much calmer and more controlled than the previous one during the competition between Rafizi and Azmin (Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali) to fight for the PKR Deputy President post in 2008. In fact, after almost four weeks, I could see the mood and the PKR election process this time was more in order and went smoothly without any major problems.

To date, how many states have you explored and campaigned at?

Rafizi and I have almost finished our tour and campaign throughout the country, including Sabah and Sarawak, with the exception of several places where we did not have the opportunity to cover such as Melaka, Selangor, and Perlis.

I will resume my campaign in Melaka, Perlis, and Selangor in the near future to gain the support of as many PKR members as possible in the upcoming internal election.

To what extent do you see an opportunity to win the post of Deputy President in the PKR party election this time?

As a seasoned party member, when I decided to enter the ring and contest, of course I would start with having the confidence to win the post of Deputy President in the internal election.

However, with the PKR internal election campaign still two weeks away, I rely on the final acceleration and votes of PKR members (PKR election starts on 13 to 22 May).

What strategies and approaches will be used to attract the support of PKR members in the party election later?

I am a low-profile person and if you look at the campaign on social media, it favours Rafizi who was much more forward, but I have no problem introducing myself to PKR members.

They knew me and my contribution, experience and loyalty to the party as well as to PKR President Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

I also took the approach of teamwork and treated everyone with respect. That was my message to PKR members and leaders, and I would never take the approach of attacking or disputing the opposition.

However, I am ready to explain issues such as why Rafizi 'disappeared' from the party. This was due to Rafizi taking a leave from his political career after losing the PKR internal election in 2018. Perhaps many of Rafizi's friends were offended by this statement but it was a fact.

Do you feel threatened and challenged by the publicity and wider coverage given by the mass media to Rafizi, who made a comeback in PKR?

I could not feel challenged or intimidated because the media has its reasons and choices for doing so.

However, what is certain was that the people who would vote in the party election were about 300,000 to 400,000 PKR members and not Malaysians in general.

So, I focused more on the campaign strategy by meeting the PKR members directly in the branches across the country. I might not be popular in mainstream media and social media, yet I could easily visit the branches and receive good responses from them.

So far, I have not seen rejections from PKR members at the grassroots level after holding dialogues with party branches throughout the country.

How is the relationship between you and Rafizi now when both parties are gunning for the same post?

So far, our relationship is good. Alhamdulillah, we have a good professional relationship and we even had lunch together just a few months ago at his office.

The fact that I could go to his office and have lunch with him showed that we had a good and professional relationship despite having differences and similarities of opinion. Only in this election we are running for the same seat – the PKR Deputy President post. Hence, PKR members need to make the right decision.

Will you leave PKR if you lose in the party election?

I don’t think the 2018 tragedy will repeat itself. In 2018, Azmin contested with Rafizi, but he left the party despite winning. Rafizi who had lost then decided to rest for a while and made a comeback.

As a friend, I welcomed Rafizi's action to be politically active again and in PKR. I’m sure he had a lot of fresh and new ideas and would benefit the party.

I am confident that whoever was elected and won would not leave the party like Azmin and the loser will not take a break, meaning whether Rafizi or I win or lose the election... We will remain in PKR.