Rafidah is a nobody, says Nazri

He says the ‘Iron Lady’ lost her voice of authority when she was replaced as Wanita Umno chief

(Free Malaysia Today) – Former Wanita Umno leader Rafidah Aziz can “bark all she wants” at the Putrajaya administration, but the reality is that she’s a nobody, says Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Aziz.

Nazri made the dismissive remarks today as a reaction to a Facebook posting in which Rafidah reminded her readers of the story of the emperor with no clothes in an apparent response to criticism she had received for speaking against Prime Minister Najib Razak’s administration.

In the famous tale, an emperor parades in “new clothes” that the weavers said would be invisible to stupid people. His subjects pretend they can see the suit until a child points out that he is in fact naked.

“Rafidah is a nobody, just a member of Umno, and since we practice democracy and freedom of speech, it’s up to her to say whatever she wants to say,” Nazri told reporters covering the launching of a tourism programme.

He said the former cabinet minister had lost her voice of authority when she was succeeded by Shahrizat Abdul Jalil as Wanita Umno chief.

“People don’t even listen to her,” he said. “So she can bark all she wants. There’s no need to take any disciplinary action against her since she’s just a party member.”

Rafidah’s Facebook posting yesterday addressed Umno leaders who had accused her of being anti-government or against her own party. She pointed out that she started serving Umno when many of its current leaders were “still in kindergarten.”