Rafizi is dividing the party says Dr Tan

(The Star) – PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli has come under fire for creating “a party within a party” with his NGO known as Invoke, said the party’s Wangsa Maju MP Datuk Dr Tan Kee Kwong.

Dr Tan also accused the Pandan MP of dividing the party and of self-aggrandisement and questioned Rafizi’s loyalty to the leadership of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and party president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Dr Tan took offence after the Invoke team allegedly organised events in the Wangsa Maju constituency “without the courtesy of informing me as KC (ketua cabang or division chief) and MP of Wangsa Maju”.

He also appeared upset over the choice of PKR treasurer and former Wanita MCA leader Datuk Paduka Tan Yee Kew as the moderator for a planned Invoke event in the constituency.

Dr Tan had alleged that Yee Kew had “a record of being disruptive of our efforts to build up PKR and PH (Pakatan Harapan) to face GE14”.

The Wangsa Maju MP’s hard-hitting critique was leaked after he uploaded it to a mobile chat group of the party’s supreme council.

When contacted, Dr Tan said the views were made in private and that he had no further comment.

He also told off Rafizi for his “conspicuous absence” at the Selangor government Hari Raya open house on July 2 at the MPAJ premises located in the Pandan area and at which Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah was the guest of honour.

“Are you not a PKR MP for Selangor? Are you not proud of the PKR-led government?” he wrote.

Noting that the Invoke truck featured a big picture of Rafizi, he said: “Big picture of yourself, no picture of DSAI or DSKW (Anwar and Wan Azizah), both of whom you always said are the inspiration for you to join politics?”

He reminded Rafizi of the numerous occasions when he gave Rafizi moral and monetary support, from turning up in court for Rafizi to getting his friends to donating to Invoke. He had also personally donated a table worth RM5,000 for an Invoke fund-raising dinner.

“When you were first assigned to Pandan, you faced many problems from the cabang (division). Together with others, I went down to the ground to assist you.

“May I ask you now, what is the purpose of Invoke? To form a party within a party? To promote Rafizi? You said Invoke will focus on marginal seats. Is Wangsa Maju a marginal seat,” said Dr Tan who won Pandan with a majority of 5,511 votes.

Rafizi relinquished his PKR secretary-general post earlier this year and is fully focused on Invoke, a policy research outfit.