The Tamesis
April 20, 2026
Kuala Lumpur – From the power centers in Putrajaya to the grassroots of PKR, there are constant voices that neither the Madani government nor the party can ignore. It was a high-pitched, rhythmic, and increasingly frantic noise.
This is the sound of Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli’s hiruk alarm clock. Most alarm clocks serve a noble purpose; they wake you from your slumber and confront you with the realities of the day. But Raffles is an alarm clock with a broken switch.
Rafizi served as the party’s strategist and was loyal to Prime Minister and PKR chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. But now he has become the party’s most infuriating and inevitable alarm clock – something he once played against PKR and Anwar’s main rivals Umno and Barisan Nasional.
The hiruk (riot) began with a campaign slogan used by Rafizi in early 2025 when he defended his position as PKR deputy chairman. He argued at the time that the test of power was suffocating the party’s idealism. However, in May 2025, party representatives preferred Nurul Izzah Anwar’s Damai (peace) to Rafizi’s Hiruk campaign.
After losing his party position and resigning as economy minister in June 2025, the Pandan MP’s shilluk alarm has not abated. The sound is getting louder and louder.
No longer overshadowed by the cabinet’s collective responsibility and party consensus, he launched a series of scathing attacks on Anwar’s government and the heart of PKR.
Rafizi led eight PKR MPs in pressuring the Prime Minister to suspend Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Tan Sri Azam Baki and publicly questioned the Prime Minister’s anti-corruption credentials and the transparency of his inner circle.
He has repeatedly described Nurul Iza’s victory and the promotion of certain leaders as a return to the dynastic politics that PKR had worked hard to dismantle, arguing that the party “sold its soul for the comfort of the palace.”
He even took aim at PKR vice-president Ramanan, accusing the leadership of giving “special treatment” to specific individuals while marginalizing the grassroots reformists who drove the movement and subsequent victory.
The former economy minister and former PKR strategist described the government’s performance as “defensive” and “uninspiring” and predicted a disastrous performance in the 16th general election (GE16) for Pakatan Harapan, currently made up of PKR, DAP and Amanah.
For most politicians, the weight of personal and legal pressures is like the snooze or silent button on an alarm clock. Not for Raffizi.
He was born and raised in friction. The more he was squeezed, the louder his voice became. In August 2025, it was reported that Rafizi’s son was injected with an unknown substance, a harrowing incident that caused most people to retreat into private life for the sake of their family, but despite this, Rafizi remained more defiant than ever.
He has also faced one or two anti-corruption commission investigations into alleged irregularities while he was economy minister. For a standard politician, corruption investigations require strategic silence and legal caution. To Raffles, they were just new batteries for his alarm clock; he described them as “reckless slurs” meant to neutralize his influence.
Anwar, a master of political survival, tried to throw a thick velvet blanket over the Shilluk clock. His strategy was to “learn calm” and publicly urge party members to focus on the economy and ignore personal grievances, essentially trying to deprive Rafizi of the oxygen of focus.
Internally, the party has used more direct mechanisms of silence to suppress noise. PKR has sent multiple letters of cause to Rafizi, saying he had repeatedly violated party discipline and that by ensuring loyalists controlled the party machinery, the leadership effectively removed him from formal decision-making.
PKR leaders have called for his dismissal, but the party appears hesitant, believing that firing is exactly the fuel Rafizi wants to use to launch his next political move.
Rafizi has been publicly urging PKR to sack him, saying he believed the party was brave enough to do so, but it turns out they were just “avoiding the issue” because they feared the consequences.
He seems to be seeking martyr status, as he was ousted for speaking truth to power against his own mentor.
The strategy is clear: Rafizi is preparing for the 16th general election. With more than a dozen loyal PKR MPs in his camp, he has positioned himself as bringing “real reform”. This would-be new political vehicle claims to have retained the original flame of 1998, which Anwar reportedly allowed to be extinguished for political expediency.
Over coffee in a Kuala Lumpur cafe, a pollster told me that the biggest threat to Anwar and PKR was not the opposition Perikatan Nasional. This is the politician who is currently screaming like an alarm clock within his own party.
Once the backbone of the reform movement, Pakatan Rakyat voters now find themselves caught in a dilemma, caught between a government that feels increasingly like politics as usual and a disruptor that promises a return to its reform roots.
Pollsters have warned that Rafizi’s reforms could cost PKR several city seats in the 16th general election as he deprives idealistic young people and disillusioned reformists who believe Madani’s government has become too comfortable in power.
As the general election approaches, the Prime Minister and PKR are faced with a stark reality: You can ignore the alarm clock for a while, hide it under your pillow, or even try to break its glass, but as long as the internal mechanism is ticking, the noise will persist.
Rafizi will continue to play Alarm Clock, who decides that the only way to save the house is to make sure no one inside gets some sleep.
