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Ushar Daniele

Malaysian politics runs on grudges and few illustrate that better than the one nursed by Rafizi Ramli.
A year after losing the deputy presidency of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s People’s Justice Party (PKR), he has built a vehicle for the disaffected, aimed squarely at the coalition of which he was once part.
Parti Bersama Malaysia – or Bersama, meaning “together” – is barely three months old under its new leadership, yet it has already rattled Malaysia’s governing alliance.
Taken over in May by Rafizi and fellow ex-minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Bersama recently gained another PKR defector in the form of Wong Chen, a three-term MP who spent almost 20 years in Anwar’s party before resigning his Subang seat on August 10.
The timing could hardly be worse for the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, which has suffered back-to-back drubbings in state elections at the hands of Barisan Nasional, its erstwhile enemy turned federal partner.

Bersama now threatens to open a second front, drawing away reform-minded voters that PH cannot afford to lose – even as it insists it is a progressive alternative and more than a just spoiler.
During his time as PKR’s former deputy president, Rafizi built a reputation as a campaigner fluent in data-driven attacks, viral messaging and bread-and-butter grievances before his falling out with the party leadership.
His Bersama co-leader Nik Nazmi is philosophical about the split from PH and what it means for the future.
“We feel that Pakatan Harapan has lost its way. It was no longer true to its ideals,” he told This Week in Asia.
“What Bersama is, is a progressive, multiracial party, but it is also very much looking at providing solutions for today’s era, rather than looking at the past with the baggage of the past.”
Had power been the only objective, defecting to BN would have been easier, Nik Nazmi said.
The new Bersama’s first electoral outing, in Johor, was modest yet consequential.
In Perling, a seat that PH member the Democratic Action Party (DAP) once considered safe, Bersama’s Boo Wei Han won 2,996 votes. BN’s candidate then beat the DAP’s by just 1,611 – narrow enough that Bersama’s presence made the difference.
Nik Nazmi rejects the “spoiler” label, however, saying that PH losing votes does not mean those votes were ever its to lose.
“Why would anyone assume that all of them would have voted for PH if we did not run?” he asked. “They may have stayed at home.”
Losing but hurting PH
Not everyone agrees. Azmi Hassan, a political analyst and senior fellow at the Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research, said the Johor result proved Bersama did not need to win seats to leave a mark.
“Bersama is considered just a spoiler, but a very effective spoiler if you look at what happened in Johor,” he said. “The party that will lose most with the presence of Bersama, there is no doubt it is specifically PKR.”
But Azmi argues that siphoning off votes from rivals without building a coalition of its own is not much of a strategy.
“How long does Bersama want to be a spoiler? It won’t benefit them much,” he said.
Indeed, much of Bersama’s early support may not even be the party’s own.
Public policy expert Ahmad Mohsein Azman, a senior analyst at strategic advisory firm BowerGroupAsia, thinks frustration with Anwar’s government is doing much of the heavy lifting for now.

“Bersama will need to show the voters that its appeal is more than just being a rehash of PKR, and that they have a sustainable political vision and ideals that they can commit to,” he said.
Weak turnout in PH strongholds across the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections hinted that reform-minded Malaysians were “spoilt for choice given how many fledgling parties are positioning as pro-reform alternatives, or are discouraged out of frustration given the state of Malaysian politics today”.
Bersama, as it stood, was inseparable from Rafizi and would need to evolve beyond being simply PKR minus the parts he disliked, Ahmad Mohsein said.
Nik Nazmi appeared unmoved by the criticism. “For Bersama, we want to build and we want to scale up on our terms, and we are no longer looking at PH,” he said.
“Good luck to PH. I think the BN wave is just so big right now, but it’s also a way for PH to look at themselves and reflect.”
For now, most observers – including Rafizi, by his own admission – saw Bersama less as a government-in-waiting than a shot across the bows of a coalition that had grown too comfortable with its founding myth, Ahmad Mohsein said.
“However, if the party plays its cards right, it may be on track to assert itself within the political scene in the next five to 10 years.”


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Malaysia

In Malaysia, voter anger fuels a third force against Anwar

Former Malaysian ministers Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad at an event announcing their takeover of Bersama in May. Photo: Facebook/Rafizi Ramli

Pakatan Harapan, Barisan Nasional and Bersama flags line a road in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Photo: Iman Muttaqin Yusof

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the 48th Asean Summit in May. Anwar’s ruling coalition has fared poorly in three recent state elections in Sabah, Johor and Negeri Sembilan. Photo: Reuters

Malaysia’s Anwar traded reform for power. Now Umno wants it all

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition has suffered a series of bruising defeats in recent state elections. Photo: EPA-EFE

A flag of the United Malays National Organisation waves outside its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: EPA-EFE

Delegates attend the People’s Justice Party congress at the Melaka International Trade Centre in Ayer Keroh, Melaka, on August 15. Photo: Facebook/KeadilanRakyat

A Democratic Action Party candidate meets supporters while campaigning in Johor state last month. BN won the state election by a landslide. Photo: Facebook/dapjohor.my

A woman crosses a street in front of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month. Photo: AP

Nurul Izzah Anwar, the Malaysian prime minister’s eldest child, stepped back from the deputy presidency of his ruling People’s Justice Party this month. Photo: Hadi Azmi

A man fills his motorcycle at a petrol station in Selangor, Malaysia. Cash handouts and fuel subsidies may not be enough to save Anwar’s ruling coalition, insiders warn. Photo: EPA

In Malaysia, Nurul Izzah’s PKR exit deepens questions over Anwar’s leadership

PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar poses with her father, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Photo: Instagram/n_izzah

PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar takes part in the Malaysian Bar march for judicial independence in July 2025. Photo: Handout

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (centre) attends a cultural festival at Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur on July 25. Photo: AP

Veteran Malaysian MP Wong quits over ‘toxic politics’, leaving reform agenda in doubt

Wong Chen (left), joins Rafizi Ramli (centre) and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad  at a press conference at Bersama’s headquarters on Wednesday. Photo: Iman Muttaqin Yusof



Bersama’s headquarters in Taman Putra Perdana, Puchong, Selangor. Photo: Iman Muttaqin Yusof 

Bersama leader Rafizi Ramli (centre) poses with party members at its Puchong headquarters after unveiling the party’s first group of spokespeople on Wednesday. Photo: Iman Muttaqin Yusof

In Malaysia, DAP’s vote to stay in Anwar’s alliance secures stability – but at what cost?

DAP Secretary General Anthony Loke (centre) answers questions from the media after the vote on Sunday. Photo: Joseph Sipalan

DAP Secretary General Anthony Loke is projected onto the big screen as he chairs a press conference on Sunday. Photo: Joseph Sipalan

Over 2,200 DAP delegates attend the special congress in Putrajaya on Sunday. Photo: Facebook/DAPMalaysia

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Barely three months old, Rafizi Ramli’s breakaway party is already siphoning crucial votes away from Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition


Barely three months old, Rafizi Ramli’s breakaway party is already siphoning crucial votes away from Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition.


In Malaysia, voter anger fuels a third force against Anwar

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Barely three months old, Rafizi Ramli’s breakaway party is already siphoning crucial votes away from Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition

Barely three months old, Rafizi Ramli’s breakaway party is already siphoning crucial votes away from Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition