Rafizi rejects ‘big tent’ approach for GE15
PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli said PKR and Pakatan Harapan should learn from ‘past betrayals’.
SUBANG JAYA: PKR’s vice-president Rafizi Ramli has rejected calls made by several opposition leaders for PKR and Pakatan Harapan (PH) to consider adopting the “big tent” approach to unite all opposition parties for the next general election (GE15).
Rafizi, who is running for the party’s deputy president’s post in the party’s election in May, said the time had come for the party to “start from zero” to win the hearts of voters rather than reaching out to other parties in its efforts to win back Putrajaya.
PKR and PH should learn from “past betrayals”, he told a gathering of party members, in reference to the Sheraton Move, which resulted in the coalition being betrayed by its component member, Bersatu.
Subsequently, the PH federal government fell.
“Back then, the party leadership said it had a good relationship with PAS, Umno, Bersatu and that Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi fully supported Anwar Ibrahim.
“I accepted the party’s claim and minded my business.
“For two years, we were deceived by the likes of Zahid and Najib Razak. PH fell due to Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin,” Rafizi said.
Rafizi also spoke about how Anwar was blamed for the downfall of PH’s “big tent” then since he was the head of the coalition and PKR president.
“It was Anwar who became the victim. It was Anwar who was mocked because people told him he had enough support but could not show the numbers.
“That is why after two years, I am saying that we should do away with adopting the ‘big tent’ approach to win back Putrajaya.
“In this ‘stormy weather’, it does not matter what kind of tent you use — it would not hold and will get blown away,” said the former Pandan MP, whose speech was greeted with thunderous applause by party members.
Rafizi also took a swipe at several leaders who had criticised him and Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar for saying that PH needed to be realistic in assessing its prospects of winning in GE15.
Recently, Nurul Izzah said PH would need at least 10 more years or two general elections before it can retake the federal government.
The former PKR vice-president had told Sinar Harian she foresaw PH having a tough time in GE15 and losing many parliamentary and state seats.
Her prediction came days after Rafizi had said that PH should be realistic about its chances in GE15 and not be overconfident about victory.
He also said that it would be better for PKR and PH to settle for remaining in the opposition “with dignity” rather than trumpet their optimism about winning GE15.
“In the last two or three days, many have been criticising Nurul Izzah. What both of us are trying to say is that if we (PH) do not take drastic action over the next four months, we will lose in GE15.”
Rafizi said he had decided to take active interest in politics again to help the party win back fence-sitters who had distanced themselves from PKR after the last general election.
He wanted to reinstil confidence among the party’s diehard supporters that the party is “rejuvenating itself from the inside”.
“I feel that if I win (the deputy president’s post), it will send a positive signal to these fence-sitters and our party’s diehard supporters out there that the party will and is willing to change.”
SUBANG JAYA: PKR’s vice-president Rafizi Ramli has rejected calls made by several opposition leaders for PKR and Pakatan Harapan (PH) to consider adopting the “big tent” approach to unite all opposition parties for the next general election (GE15).
Rafizi, who is running for the party’s deputy president’s post in the party’s election in May, said the time had come for the party to “start from zero” to win the hearts of voters rather than reaching out to other parties in its efforts to win back Putrajaya.
PKR and PH should learn from “past betrayals”, he told a gathering of party members, in reference to the Sheraton Move, which resulted in the coalition being betrayed by its component member, Bersatu.
Subsequently, the PH federal government fell.
“Back then, the party leadership said it had a good relationship with PAS, Umno, Bersatu and that Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi fully supported Anwar Ibrahim.
“I accepted the party’s claim and minded my business.
“For two years, we were deceived by the likes of Zahid and Najib Razak. PH fell due to Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin,” Rafizi said.
Rafizi also spoke about how Anwar was blamed for the downfall of PH’s “big tent” then since he was the head of the coalition and PKR president.
“It was Anwar who became the victim. It was Anwar who was mocked because people told him he had enough support but could not show the numbers.
“That is why after two years, I am saying that we should do away with adopting the ‘big tent’ approach to win back Putrajaya.
“In this ‘stormy weather’, it does not matter what kind of tent you use — it would not hold and will get blown away,” said the former Pandan MP, whose speech was greeted with thunderous applause by party members.
Rafizi also took a swipe at several leaders who had criticised him and Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar for saying that PH needed to be realistic in assessing its prospects of winning in GE15.
Recently, Nurul Izzah said PH would need at least 10 more years or two general elections before it can retake the federal government.
The former PKR vice-president had told Sinar Harian she foresaw PH having a tough time in GE15 and losing many parliamentary and state seats.
Her prediction came days after Rafizi had said that PH should be realistic about its chances in GE15 and not be overconfident about victory.
He also said that it would be better for PKR and PH to settle for remaining in the opposition “with dignity” rather than trumpet their optimism about winning GE15.
“In the last two or three days, many have been criticising Nurul Izzah. What both of us are trying to say is that if we (PH) do not take drastic action over the next four months, we will lose in GE15.”
Rafizi said he had decided to take active interest in politics again to help the party win back fence-sitters who had distanced themselves from PKR after the last general election.
He wanted to reinstil confidence among the party’s diehard supporters that the party is “rejuvenating itself from the inside”.
“I feel that if I win (the deputy president’s post), it will send a positive signal to these fence-sitters and our party’s diehard supporters out there that the party will and is willing to change.”
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