Whatever the outcome of elections for the resurrected Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama) under former PKR MPs Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, they are likely to become a force to contend with in the next polls to be held by the end of February 2028.
The significance was evident when Rafizi let on in an interview on KiniTV aired Sunday that current indications are that Bersama will contest all seats in Selangor, where data indicates it has strong support.
That’s 22 parliamentary and 56 state seats in the most developed state.
It’s a given that it will contest all Federal Territory seats in the peninsula (11 in Kuala Lumpur and one in Putrajaya), adding a further 12, to make 34 already.
That has major implications for the rest of Peninsular Malaysia, assuming that’s where Bersama’s focus is. If the revitalised party can contest all seats in Selangor, what’s to stop it from contesting all seats in mixed-race states?
That means you can include all seats in Penang (13 parliamentary, 40 state), Perak (24, 59), Negeri Sembilan (eight, 36), Malacca (six, 28) and Johor (26, 56). That makes a grand total of 111 parliamentary seats alone. If they win even a fifth, they are a force to reckon with.
Demand for alternative party
Is this all up in the air, or is there supporting evidence for probable support for Bersama? Rafizi said in the interview that there is.
“Bersama is a political start-up. We need time to validate our hypothesis. This month, we will examine acceptance. By June, we will be able to measure acceptance. By the end of June, we can profile the seats we can contest. We need money - we have to cut our coat according to our cloth,” he said.
“In Selangor, we can contest all seats. Demographics show that we have the highest support here, with seats held by PKR, DAP, Bersatu, PAS, and Amanah. Profiles show we have potential in all seats.
“We don’t care if it is (Prime Minister) Anwar (Ibrahim), or PKR or DAP, where we feel there is demand and adoption of us, we will contest.”
Data until April, he said, shows the emergence and growth of disenfranchised voters (those who don’t know who to vote for). The percentage support for Pakatan Harapan, Perikatan Nasional, BN - all came down for all races.
“We run a statistically competent national and local poll every month. We track a question on which parties are supported. Harapan, BN, and PN have about equal support, plus or minus two percentage points.
“’Not sure’ (answer) is the most ticked and has been growing since October, accounting for 32 percent. The remaining 68 percent is divided amongst the three.
“We wanted to know there was empirical evidence for our hypothesis (that a new party was needed). By February, we knew there was a market for a new party.”
He said political analysis is simplistic - historical.
“We have validated demand and interest in a new segment - it is there. We will cross 20,000 members in a week - that’s not bad. In PKR, if we got 5,000 members in a week, that would be fantastic.”
The membership rose to 16,000 over four days. It includes PAS sympathisers, former Harapan supporters, and some Umno supporters as well.
“We are getting interest from a wide section. We ask for a declaration of age, race, previous parties, etc. The majority are those who have not belonged to a party. We will get a breakdown in a week.
“Many were unexpected - ex-colleagues from Petronas, one of them a CEO (in one of the companies), who retired 10 years ago. We can’t use previous figures to assess our chances. We are sure we won’t lose our deposits,” he quipped.
The immediate question is how much progress the party will make in the coming election. That will decide much of its future. But first, Rafizi has to secure his former constituency, Pandan, where an interesting development is unfolding.
Initial panic
The initial panic among PKR and Anwar is already reflected in the party president focusing attention on Pandan, Rafizi’s constituency before he resigned recently as MP. If you get Rafizi down, then the movement is nipped in the bud.
Anwar has brought former Umno member and investment, trade and industry minister, Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, to Pandan. Most likely, it will be Zafrul who will contest against Rafizi, but it does not seem likely that the former has a good chance of winning.
Harapan's Dzulkefly Ahmad retained his Kuala Selangor seat in November 2022 after a tough challenge from Zafrul. The former health minister polled 31,033 votes to Zafrul's 30,031 for a majority of 1,002.
Remember, Zafrul was in Umno at that time. But Anwar let him continue as a minister through an appointment to the Senate. He was forced to step down when his six-year term with the Senate expired in December 2025.
Despite that, Zafrul was appointed senior political adviser to the prime minister for a two-year term starting in March and Malaysian Investment Development Authority chairperson, serving a two-year term that began in December last year.
Zafrul’s rapid rise
Zafrul became a PKR member in July 2025 following his resignation from Umno shortly before, in a move, together with a rapid rise in party ranks, that attracted animosity and criticism from long-time PKR members.
Zafrul has been cultivating Pandan already, now with Anwar’s direct help, with the clear intention to topple Rafizi in the next election and get himself a parliamentary seat.
But that’s not going to be easy with Rafizi’s popularity increasing and many seeing him as the last hope for an equitable Malaysia.
A lot will depend on election timing. If it is at full term, that will give Bersama time to organise, get members and raise money, which will mean it can gain considerable strength and contest many seats.
For that reason alone, an election is likely to be early despite public pronouncements that component parties have committed to supporting the Madani government to the end of the full term.
Bersama has the potential to take things far. It is extremely unlikely to win this round of elections, but it is likely to build a base, perhaps up to 30 seats. Anything much above that seems unlikely, although not impossible.
Cultivate Pandan
Rafizi and Nik Nazmi have captured the imagination of many Malaysians with their grand, some will say grandiose, visions. But one piece of advice, Rafizi should make sure he cultivates Pandan to ensure he is there to fight the battle.
Remember Nurul Izzah Anwar, against all expectations, lost in Permatang Pauh, thought to be a PKR and Anwar stronghold, to PAS’ Fawwaz Jan at GE15, defeated by a majority of 5,272 votes, securing 32,366 votes against Fawwaz's 37,638.
Rafizi needs to be there to fight the good fight, but he has to win at Pandan, where PKR will put all its resources into defeating him. At the same time, he needs to work to put in a significant number of MPs to be, hopefully, kingmakers at least.
He is saying all the right things: “We can’t continue as before, there has to be change - in the economy, education, wages and others. Anwar has not succeeded in handling racial issues because he is tiptoeing around Umno.
“We need a unity dept to handle this, the PM must chair this and do things. We have it for the economy, why not here? Bring everyone down to common ground.”
Rafizi said that there are 10 MPs with “our own views, we hold the 10 MPs card”, referring to how the bloc can be used to stop legislation and gain concessions.
“We know the leverage of a small party. You have to know your strength and leverage it to pressure the government. Pushing our agenda is more important than going for seats. We intend to disrupt, not to take control,” he added.
If anybody can disrupt, Rafizi can. But in the long run, we hope that he can do more than that. Let’s have some patience. Malaysia won’t be rebuilt in a day. - Mkini
P GUNASEGARAM welcomes this glimmer of hope for the future.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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