LETTER | After the 2018 general election, we lost Rafizi Ramli to Azmin Ali by a very narrow margin in the fight for the PKR deputy president post.

And the price that a nation paid for the outcome is humongous. It included the much and widely condemned Sheraton Move political coup where Azmin betrayed the rakyat's hopes and the magnanimous party that gave him the winning ticket.

It also saw the departure of Rafizi (above) from the earth-shattering political landscape that continues to tumble, rumble, and rattle till this day.

As the 15th general election (GE15) is imminent now with an ousted Umno and its cohorts plotting in overdrive mode for a historic kill, the return of Rafizi ignites hope for many Malaysians.

The media statement he made in response to a panacea proposed by a convicted lawmaker and former prime minister to bail out an oil and gas company immediately drew accolades from netizens.

This is the Rafizi that should have earned our votes in GE14 which in hindsight would have saved an entire 32 million people from the earth-shattering Sheraton Move coup that saw Azmin take the pie while the nation plunged into political instability.

But even as Rafizi's return is hailed by hopeful citizens, a spanner is seemingly already being thrown into the works.

If PKR does not want to shoot itself in its own foot and mouth this time around, then stop the faking democracy claim by pitting a race to the VP position in the party.

A smart solution is to make the return of Rafizi a celebrated welcome.

Any contender to the VP post must be quick to learn that if Rafizi is again pitted out, the rakyat will make minced meat of Anwar Ibrahim and his coterie.

Get smart. Time is against you PKR given your beatings received in the recent Malacca and Johor polls.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.