Rafizi quipped that he had “no choice” but to defend his party post, saying PKR’s focus on the party polls is to ensure that competitions are held in a healthy manner without distracting from its role in the government.

“I have no choice, I can not defend (the post), but then I think it’s too much drama (for the government) … at a time that we really need to pull through the next two to three years.

“So, fortunately or unfortunately, I have to defend my post and stand for election. I will stand, but I hope as much as possible that we will have a lot less drama.

“Let’s focus on the government, let’s focus on the public. I don’t think the public really wants to see too much drama from any political party,” he told reporters after launching the Mid-Term Review of the National Oil & Gas Services and Equipment Industry Blueprint 2021-2030 here today.

Rafizi was elected PKR deputy president in 2022, defeating party secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail. The pair are colleagues in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is also PKR president.

He was previously a PKR vice-president from 2014. He had contested for the deputy presidency in 2018 and lost to Azmin Ali, now of Bersatu.

Previously, Anwar’s senior political secretary Shamsul Iskandar Akin said PKR’s top two posts were unlikely to be contested in the May party elections.