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Former economy minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli said he believes the mystery syringe attack on his son, along with a threatening message sent to his wife, was an inside job within PKR
Speaking to BFM on a show aired on Wednesday, 25 February, the Pandan MP said the incident has drastically changed his family's routines and lifestyle, to the point that they "hardly go out nowadays".
"Despite being so-called a public figure for the last 10 to 15 years, we were able to live an anonymous life. It was very important for me and my wife, and more so to protect our son… To make sure that they were not affected or dragged into politics because to me politics is just a job, it's not my life.
"But after what happened, we had to change our routines," said the 48-year-old.
He added that a bodyguard now accompanies him even during his jogs, while his wife and son must remain vigilant about their surroundings in their daily lives.
When asked who was behind the attack, Rafizi noted that only those close to him would be privy to his family's routines, hinting that it was an inside job orchestrated by someone within his party
"The attack was meant to get me to shut up. It was meant to silence me.
"I think the [perpetrators] thought process was that he (Rafizi) was threatened with a jail sentence before, sued before, politically edged out without a position, and that didn't stop him.
"So, the only thing that perhaps could stop him is to intimidate the family. That means that that knowledge must have come from someone inside PKR.
"People who knew who I was, what type of person I am… So, I think the public had concluded it's basically an inside job," he said.
"I've never in my lifetime thought that PKR would become like this."
"They can deny as much as possible, but it was quite obvious from the circumstances: the attack happened out of fear of my criticism of the government and of the party."
On 13 August last year, Rafizi said a man stabbed his son with a mystery syringe at a shopping mall in Putrajaya.
Following the attack, his wife received a message that read, "Diam! Andai teruskan, AIDS! (Shut up! If you continue, AIDS!)"
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said last month that police are still investigating the case.
SAYS has reached out to PKR for comments but has not received a response.
During the tell-all interview, Rafizi also hinted at the possibility of leaving PKR but asked the public to wait until June for his next announcement
He said he intends to "continue the journey" with PKR peers who still believe in the party's reformist ideals.
However, if the party no longer supports that cause, he admitted that he is "quite open to sailing our own ship as it fits".
Last week, the Pandan MP said he would not join a "third force", form a new party, or collaborate with former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, reported the New Straits Times.
You can listen to Rafizi discuss the attack in the BFM interview below, starting at the 21:55-minute mark:
