PETALING JAYA: Rafizi Ramli’s concerns on Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s new cabinet line-up are warranted as these decisions were made without consulting PKR, says his fellow party vice president Wong Chen (pic).
Wong said it is perplexing that PKR has not been offered any Cabinet positions yet, since it is the single largest party in Pakatan Harapan.
He pointed out that the party has 48 federal seats, while DAP has 42, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia has 13 and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) has 11.
“Nothing yet for PKR, the single largest party in Pakatan Harapan? So what did Rafizi do that is wrong in the eyes of the public?
“He is telling the truth to power, that these appointments were made without PKR’s consent,” Wong he said in a statement on Facebook on Saturday (May 12).
Wong's defence came shortly after Ambiga Sreevenasan tweeted “PKR, please stop your nonsense”.
The former Bersih 2.0 chairman was referring to a report in a news portal quoting Rafizi as saying Dr Mahathir had “bulldozed” those appointments through without PKR's consent.
Earlier on Saturday, the Prime Minister and Pakatan chairman had announced three of the 10 ministers that were supposed to have been unveiled after the coalition's presidential council meeting.
They were Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as Home Minister, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng as Finance Minister, and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu as Defence Minister.
The other seven ministers that have yet to be named are Economy, Education, Multimedia Science and Technology; Rural Development, Public Works, Transport and Foreign.
Rafizi, who was criticised on social media, also issued a statement saying that he assumed those Cabinet positions were not final.
“Any decision regarding any appointments must be agreed in consensus with all four parties within Pakatan Harapan,” he said in a statement issued in his blog.
According to Wong, Rafizi does not want to see the Pakatan-led government by Dr Mahathir to start on the wrong footing.
“And as such he dared to tegur (chide) Dr Mahathir’s announcement, and for this, he is vilified by most of you.
“It is precisely this unhealthy attitude of Malaysians, never (wanting) to question authority … Rafizi worked tirelessly for two years with Invoke to bring about meaningful change,” he said, referring to Rafizi's non-governmental organisation.
“I am proud to be his friend and I will continue to support Rafizi in his quest to create a two-party system for Malaysia.”
PETALING JAYA: PKR assumes that the decision for the three Cabinet ministers are not final, says party vice-president Rafizi Ramli (pic).
This comes after only top leaders of Pakatan Harapan partner parties had been allocated Cabinet positions.
According to a PKR insider, there was some dissatisfaction when the Cabinet positions were being discussed amongst Pakatan leaders.
PKR wants the most number of Cabinet positions as it is the party with the most number of seats in Parliament.
However the DAP also has its demands and Amanah (Parti Amanah Negara) has asked for all the four partner parties to get an equal number of seats,” said the source.
The source added that most of the PKR representatives had left the Pakatan presidential council meeting to discuss Cabinet positions on Saturday, with only Pakatan Harapan secretariat chief Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah there to hold the fort, as a sign of their disagreement.
They also want the PKR adviser (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) to be involved in the selection process,” he said.
Earlier on Saturday (May 12), the Prime Minister and Pakatan chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced three of the 10 ministers that were supposed to have been unveiled (on May 12) after the coalition's presidential council meeting.
They were Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as Home Minister, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng as Finance Minister, and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu as Defence Minister.
The other seven ministers that have yet to be named are Economy, Education, Multimedia Science and Technology; Rural Development, Public Works, Transport and Foreign.
In the press conference held to announce these ministers, PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, was conspicuously absent.
In a press statement released after Dr Mahathir's announcement, Rafizi questioned why no PKR members were present at the meeting to finalise the ministers.
"PKR assumes that the discussions are still underway and no final decision had been made – all decisions regarding any appointments must be agreed upon by all four parties in the Pakatan Harapan coalition,” Rafizi said in a statement.
He also acknowledged that Dr Mahathir had met Anwar at the Cheras Rehabilitation Hospital to discuss the appointments.
KUALA LUMPUR: PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli has accused Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad of having bulldozed through the appointment of the three cabinet ministers, whose names were unveiled earlier today.
Rafizi said the prime minister had failed to consult the Pakatan Harapan component parties before announcing the names, and that the decision was a unilateral one.
A YouTube video, featuring an audio recording of a conversation between Rafizi and an unidentified person, quoted Rafizi voicing his displeasure at the move.
“Even the three appointed, because the decision was made without our participation. He bulldozed it.
“So because, I mean, obviously DAP is happy to get (the position of) Finance (Minister) and Parti Amanah Negara is happy to get Defence (Minister), the due process of discussing it was not done.
“He unilaterally announced (it),” he said in the one-minute, four-second video.
Rafizi said discussions among the four parties involved in Pakatan Harapan needed to take place for such decisions.
Earlier, in a blog post on his official website rafiziramli.com, he said PKR deemed that discussions were still ongoing and the announcement was “not conclusive.”
Dr Mahathir had announced at a press conference, the appointment of Lim Guan Eng as Finance Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as Home Affairs Minister and Mohamad Sabu as Defence Minister.
Seven other ministers in the 10-person cabinet would only be announced by next week.
KUALA LUMPUR: PKR Subang Member of Parliament Wong Chen defended PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli in questioning the appointment of the three cabinet ministers announced earlier today.
Wong said Rafizi did not want the new Federal government under Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to start off on the wrong foot.
“As such he dared to “tegur” (speak out against) Dr Mahathir’s announcement.
“And for this, he was vilified by most of you.
“It is precisely this unhealthy attitude of Malaysians (to) never question (the) authority. This is the main reason why we allowed (former prime minister Datuk Seri (Najib Razak and (Datin Seri) Rosmah Mansor to rule us for nine years,” he said in a posting on his Facebook page.
Wong was responding to netizens criticising Rafizi for accusing Dr Mahathir of bulldozing the appointment of Lim Guan Eng as Finance Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as Home Affairs Minister and Mohamad Sabu as Defence Minister.
He said PKR was the largest party in Pakatan Harapan, but was not given any of the senior ministerial positions.
“The matter is simple, PKR has 47 plus one MP, DAP has 42, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) has 13 and Parti Amanah Negara (PAN) has 11.
“The announcement of the next few senior minister was to be made today by consensus of all parties. At 4pm, Dr Mahathir appointed the three new ministers in the presence of PPBM, DAP and PAN.
“These three posts are the most powerful in the country,” he said.
Wong questioned what had Rafizi done that was so wrong in the eyes of the public.
“He is telling (the) truth to power that these appointments were made without PKR consent.
“Then he tells us that Dr Mahathir will see Anwar in hospital to consult (with PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim and hopefully they can discuss and rectify the issue.
“Rafizi worked tirelessly for 2 years with Invoke Malaysia to bring about meaningful change. I am proud to be his friend and will continue to support Rafizi in his quest to create a two party system for Malaysia,” he said.
