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.