Speaking at the party’s national congress here, Saifuddin said he chose to accompany Rafizi out of the hall while others were celebrating their victory last night.

“I walked him to his car. We embraced, exchanged apologies, and in that moment, I admitted that I feared losing him from our party,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion.

Saifuddin, who was speaking in his capacity as Pakatan Harapan secretary-general, said he had mixed feelings about the outcome of PKR’s central leadership polls yesterday.

Nurul Izzah garnered a total of 9,803 votes, or 71.7%, while Rafizi obtained 3,866 votes (28.3%) in the heated straight fight for the deputy presidency.

Rafizi was notably absent from the final day of the party’s national congress today, with his press secretary, Farhan Iqbal, confirming that he had returned to Kuala Lumpur.

Saifuddin said party president Anwar Ibrahim had the heavy duty of mending the ties that may have been broken during the party elections.

“There are those who attended Rafizi’s ‘Hiruk’ campaign tour, and others who attended Nurul Izzah’s ‘Damai’ tour. Anwar is not just a father to Nurul Izzah, but a father figure to all of you,” he added.

Rafizi in a statement today expressed gratitude to his supporters and relief at stepping away from power following his defeat in the race for the deputy presidency.

He said he would not dwell on the results of the polls, adding that he had been very transparent and vocal in sharing his concerns on numerous issues revolving around PKR’s elections.