He said Azmin is a senior minister and former menteri besar. Azmin had also been deputy president for two terms.
“Losing to an unemployed person like me will have forced him to disappear from the political arena,” said Rafizi in a lengthy statement.
Furthermore, Rafizi claimed that Azmin’s supporters would not have taken it lightly if they had lost in the polls.
He said Azmin only won by a 2% margin over him and it was a message Azmin needed to reflect upon.
Rafizi also touched on irregularities during the polls which he had raised earlier. He said these were enough reasons to call for fresh elections but he had decided not to pursue them.
These irregularities, he said, included unfair handling of the elections, missing votes, “data wiping” in the Julau polls and the disruption in internet connections.
“I have a strong case to ask for fresh elections. But I am also aware of the interests of the party.”
He reminded that people offer themselves as candidates to serve the party and “if the party is caught in a feud, it will contradict our purpose, which is to serve”.
For instance, he said if he had insisted on re-elections in Julau and won, it may have prompted the Sarawak PKR information chief Vernon Albert Kedit to lodged a report with the Registrar of Societies and the party would have been dragged to court.
In the Julau election, Rafizi had claimed that the tablets used for the e-voting system were compromised but this was denied by the party’s election committee (JPP) head Rashid Din.
In the statement, Rafizi thanked supporters nationwide for campaigning for him for free.
“I do not have any (government) positions and I am not wealthy enough to pay you all, but you all served as volunteers,” he said.
The elections saw Rafizi and Azmin lock horns in the fight for the No. 2 post.
Afif: I won the hearts of PKR youth
Dr Afif Bahardin, who lost in his bid to be PKR Youth chief, said despite losing, he had won over the hearts of the people.
“We have to accept the results. The rakyat do not want to see us playing politics. They want us to continue the reformasi agenda promised in the elections,” he said during the PKR Youth wing congress today.
According to sources, Afif, who is seen aligned to Azmin, lost by 50 voters to Akmal Nasir.
The deputy youth post was won by Muhammad Hilman Idham.
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