Speculation over Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli allegedly vacating his ministerial office during a recent leave has been clarified, with his former special officer, Najib Bakar, refuting the claims as unfounded and based on misinterpretation.
According to Najib, Rafizi never resigned from his post as minister nor withdrew from his position in PKR. He emphasized that no resignation letter was ever submitted to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, directly contradicting the narrative suggesting a formal departure.
The confusion stemmed from remarks made by Nurul Izzah Anwar. She indicated that her decision to contest was influenced by reports she received while attending a conference in India. These reports implied that Rafizi had taken leave and cleared out his office in Putrajaya, sparking speculation that he might be stepping back from his political roles. She also claimed that party leadership had been informed of a resignation letter supposedly drafted by Rafizi, raising alarms about his future in the party.
These assumptions were further fueled by internal setbacks faced by several figures closely associated with Rafizi, deepening concerns over his political direction and commitment.
However, Najib offered a more mundane explanation for the situation. He clarified that what appeared to be the "clearing out" of Rafizi’s office was actually part of routine preparations for the Ministry of Economy’s Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house, held on April 28. The office was tidied, he said, in line with standard procedures for hosting a public event—not as a sign of resignation or disengagement.
He also noted that even special branch officers had shown up at the office to verify claims that Rafizi had packed up and left, suggesting that the speculation might have been triggered by unverified sources or miscommunication within the party ranks.
Najib’s statement aimed to restore clarity by asserting that Rafizi remained firmly in his ministerial role and that no formal steps had been taken to suggest otherwise. The clarification also attempted to quell internal party tensions that arose from the rumors, which had evidently influenced key leadership decisions, including Nurul Izzah’s bid for deputy president.
The episode highlights how political narratives can shift rapidly based on perception, even in the absence of official action.
FlyingBird is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.