Rafizi Ramli: Will this reluctant star ever quit?

The stage seems to be set for this man to be a formidable personality at the forefront of Malaysian politics.

But will PKR strategy director Mohd Rafizi Ramli, who has always considered himself as a ‘reluctant politician’, fly even higher in this path, or will the chartered accountant consider quitting politics altogether?

In the past few years, the 36-year-old has risen to a certain iconic ‘star-like’ status through his expose of the ‘cow in condos’ scandal, his policy-related statements on cheaper cars and PTPTN.

Today, Rafizi is contesting to be a member of parliament in the Pandan constituency.

In the days leading up to polling day, Rafizi is at it on a daily basis: The required walkabouts, the door-to-doors, ceramah, doing some morning exercise and even frying some banana fritters together with his constituents.

From his demeanor these days-- his relaxed gait and easy smile-- one might think that he was quite confident of his chances of defeating his opponents: Barisan Nasional candidate Gary Lim Chin Yee and independent Allan Tan Yew Leng in P100.

“I may have a little edge because the Chinese voters are so much with Pakatan Rakyat. I may exceed 60% Chinese support, and 50/50 for Malays and Indians. It’s not easy to fight the momentum and waves of change that in such urban seats, I am probably ahead of them by 10%,” Rafizi told Astro Awani several days ago.

His support may have even risen further given the number of people reportedly being sighted in the nightly ceramahs that he has attended, a daily-ritual that is making his voice hoarse.

Last weekend, Rafizi listed out three top problems in Pandan: Corruption, crime and bread-and-butter economic issues. This, he claimed, was the result of his party’s street surveys.

This makes things easier for the PKR candidate: Firstly,the problems of his constituencies are in line with the top national issues and he doesn’t seem to have to come up with a new set of strategies to tackle them. Everything, more or less, was contained in the Pakatan manifesto, he said.

Rafizi admitted that most of what he needed to do in this last leg of his campaign is basically to “smile and shake more hands”, to follow-up on the work he has done on the ground for the past two years.

Another factor that in Rafizi’s favour was the fact that the prospect of coming face to face with an MCA giant in the form of ex-president and minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, had fizzled out on nomination day, to the noticeable relief of Rafizi.

“Tee Keat being out of the race is good for me. His replacement doesn’t really pose a credible threat to this campaign. Voters basically are voting for BN or Opposition,” he said.

On the different styles of campaigning, Rafizi alleged that his BN opponent plays up personal issues, such as the latest allegation that has resurfaced was that he was gay; while his campaign was about issues.

“These personal attacks have been going around, and I have decided not to entertain them. Our surveys show that people would rather have leaders who talk about issues that affect them,” he said, adding that his alleged ‘partner’ the blogs are talking about was actually the name of his cat, Kristi.

So how is that different from his allegation against Lim over his status as a lawyer, or his allegations against Umno wanita leader Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil? Are they not personal attacks?

“These are issues which affect their public office, and are done with documents and evidence. What I’ve brought up is about their mandate and responsibilities as leaders. It's different from these baseless attacks without proof,” said Rafizi, who leads his own NGO, the National Oversight and Whistleblowers Centre.

Lim recently denied allegations that he committed professional misconduct and fraud as a lawyer, a claim that Rafizi has been highlighting.

In reply to Lim's announcement of an impending defamation suit against him, Rafizi replied:”I’m not afraid to face him in court.”

During an interview with Astro Awani last weekend, where Rafizi had just finished a half-day campaigning, he was asked about his vision for the country.

On how Malaysians can be ensured to see politics that are more matured, Rafizi admitted that maturity does not necessarily come from the politicians themselves.

“The rakyat’s maturity, the ability to evaluate has grown by leaps and bounds. It’s quite sad that it is not necessarily the case for politicians.

“In fact, the rakyat are the ones in the forefront demanding for politicians who debate about policies, about helping the people. Those politicians who don’t change themselves will be thrown out.”

So lastly, would Rafizi himself remain in the forefront, in the limelight, as a PKR politician, regardless of the outcome of the Pandan seat?

Chuckling at the question, the former general manager at Pharmaniaga and Petronas said that the thought of quitting was always on his mind.

“Too many politicians treat politics like a way of life, getting themselves consumed by it. I always remind myself that this is a job I am doing, on top of everything else in my life, this keeps me grounded. Will I quit one of these days? I really don't know,” said Rafizi, who earlier said his proudest achievement in life was simply 'getting married'.