Rafizi Ramli last night mocked PAS‘s willingness to meet with US president Donald Trump to express its views concerning the conflict in Palestine.
The former economy minister said there was no guarantee that Trump – who is expected to attend the Asean Summit later this month – would like to meet with Takiyuddin Hassan, the party’s secretary-general.
“I think PAS and Takiyuddin are just trying to impress their supporters.
“Though I feel that even the US embassy would laugh reading this news,” Rafizi said in a podcast.
On Wednesday, Takiyuddin expressed the party’s willingness to meet with Trump, when declaring that it would proceed with holding a protest against the US president’s visit for the summit.
Rafizi said politicians had a tendency to issue statements just for the sake of it, even nonsensical ones.
“It does not make sense for Trump to want to see Takiyuddin,” the Pandan MP added.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had previously defended the invitation to Trump, saying Malaysia had been outspoken in supporting Palestine and Gaza, and would use diplomatic channels to champion the cause.
He said Malaysia must also be “wise in making friends” and consider the country’s economic interests, particularly in high-tech exports.
Separately, the former PKR deputy president weighed in on the clash between Bersatu leaders Wan Saiful Wan Jan and Azmin Ali, saying such feuds are part and parcel of politics.
“It is normal for politicians to be like this. Today they are friends, tomorrow they fight, and the day after they are back to being friends again.
“So, in this case, I think we just grab some popcorn and watch the feud,” he said.
Rafizi also quipped that Wan Saiful’s persistence in reviving the controversy surrounding a leaked explicit video allegedly linked to Azmin would keep the political scene lively.
“I salute Wan Saiful for digging up the video issue again. This will provide interesting political content for the next three to four months.”
Wan Saiful recently announced that he would refer Azmin, the Bersatu secretary-general, to the party’s disciplinary board over alleged threats made against division leaders said to be involved in a supposed plot to oust Muhyiddin Yassin as party president.
The Bersatu Supreme Council member was also reported to have said that Azmin was unfit to be a party leader until the controversy surrounding the leaked video was resolved.
Azmin has since dismissed the claims of “new information”, accusing Wan Saiful of slander and failing to rely on facts.
