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Malaysia
This Week in AsiaPolitics

Malaysian ex-minister Rafizi challenges Anwar’s anti-graft credentials in escalating feud

He alleged that anti-corruption officers targeted PKR candidates who challenged the prime minister’s daughter in party polls

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Left: Former Malaysian economy minister Rafizi Ramli on his Yang Berhenti Menteri (The Minister Who Quit) podcast. Right: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Photos: Facebook / Rafizi Ramli and AFP
Iman Muttaqin Yusof
Malaysia’s former economy minister Rafizi Ramli has renewed his attack on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s reformist agenda, alleging that anti-corruption officers targeted candidates who challenged the leader’s daughter in internal party polls earlier this year.
In an episode of his Yang Berhenti Menteri (The Minister Who Quit) podcast streamed on Friday, the Pandan MP and former Anwar ally alleged that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had investigated several contenders for the People’s Justice Party (PKR) deputy presidency who ran against Nurul Izzah Anwar – a race he ultimately lost to her.

“During the recent PKR election, in May, actually there were many PKR candidates who were detained by the MACC. Usually the ones who went against Nurul Izzah,” he said during the podcast. “I don’t care any more, I’ll just say it now.”

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Rafizi, the PKR’s former chief strategist who still commands wide grass-roots support, recounted one case involving a prominent Selangor figure aligned with him.

Anwar Ibrahim, then incoming president of the People’s Justice Party (PKR), with Rafizi Ramli, Azmin Ali and Wan Azizah Wan Ismail at a 2018 press conference in Petaling Jaya. Photo: EPA-EFE
Anwar Ibrahim, then incoming president of the People’s Justice Party (PKR), with Rafizi Ramli, Azmin Ali and Wan Azizah Wan Ismail at a 2018 press conference in Petaling Jaya. Photo: EPA-EFE

According to Rafizi, MACC officers surrounded the man’s home over a cash purchase of a 30,000 ringgit (US$7,300) auction property, frightening his wife and children before releasing him without detention after his full cooperation.

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