‘Kamikaze worth taking’: What we know so far about Rafizi and Nik Nazmi’s new party Bersama

“PETALING JAYA, May 17 — Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad today formally unveiled their new political platform, Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama), confirming they are quitting PKR and vacating their parliamentary seats in Pandan and Setiawangsa. Here is what we know so far about Bersama. What exactly is Bersama? Parti Bersama Malaysia is a Penang-based political party founded by Tan Gin Theam and officially registered on December 2, 2016. Until today’s announcement, the party had largely stayed out of the national spotlight, though it contested several seats in the 2018 general election and the Penang state election. It is a multiracial party, although most of its members were Chinese. Why did Rafizi and Nik Nazmi choose Bersama? Rafizi framed the move as part of a broader political reset rather than a pursuit of positions or power. “Even if this is kamikaze , for us, it is a kamikaze worth taking,” he said. He said the pair wanted a completely new platform free from compromises tied to existing political parties and coalitions. “It cannot come from existing parties that already have their own political calculations and are already coloured by public perceptions,” he said. Rafizi said efforts to register a completely new political party were expected to fail. “We also knew that registering a new party would not be approved,” he said during his speech at the “ Hala Tuju Politik ” event here. According to Rafizi, his camp had spent the past year registering several “decoy” political parties while quietly studying smaller existing parties that could align with their political ideals. “At the same time, we studied existing small parties and began discussions where there was alignment in intentions and ideas,” he said. He credited Bersama founder Tan for eventually agreeing to hand over the party leadership and structure to them. The pair also said they would vacate their parliamentary seats before officially joining Bersama in order to avoid accusations of party-hopping and to respect the mandate they won under PKR and Pakatan Harapan. Rafizi described Bersama as a multiracial political platform centred on political reform, generational renewal and returning political power to ordinary Malaysians. “Our aspiration is to offer a political platform to Malaysians who believe political power belongs to the people, not politicians,” he said. He said the party aims to revive a culture of “goodwill politics” that values Malaysians regardless of race, age or economic background. “The old alongside the young, Malays alongside non-Malays, the rich alongside the poor,” he said. The party’s slogan is “ Barisan Rakyat, Suara Malaysia ”. Will Bersama work with other coalitions? No. Rafizi made it clear that Bersama will contest elections independently and will not join any political coalition. “We are not going for any coalition,” he told reporters. “We are not bound by negotiating over seats or dealing with specific parties.” Instead, Bersama said it would contest any seat across the country if there is sufficient voter support and political alignment, regardless of whether the constituency is currently held by Pakatan Harapan, Barisan Nasional or Perikatan Nasional parties. Rafizi also hinted that more MPs and assemblymen could eventually consider joining Bersama, although the anti-party hopping law currently prevents elected representatives from switching parties without consequences. “That law binds MPs and assemblymen across all parties,” he said. “That is why Nik and I need to pave the way first by establishing this platform.” Why a kancil logo? Bersama’s logo features a stylised blue mousedeer, or kancil , set against a bright yellow background, with five blue stars arranged above it in an arc. Rafizi said the kancil symbol reflected the kind of political culture and mentality Malaysia needs. “Malaysia has tremendous potential. But we need to be agile, smart, brave and willing to take risks,” he said. He also linked the symbol to the traditional folk tale image of the clever mousedeer defeating larger and more powerful animals through wit and intelligence. “Psychologically, in our society, the crocodile has always been defeated cleverly by the kancil,” he joked. The five stars represent the five principles of the Rukun Negara. As for the yellow-and-blue colour scheme, Rafizi jokingly told reporters: “We like Perlis colours.” He later explained that yellow symbolised values associated with the Bersih movement and multiracial politics, while blue represented stability and strength. What happens next for Bersama? Rafizi said the party’s current leadership registered with the Registrar of Societies would remain in place for the time being, adding that he and Nik Nazmi would formally assume leadership through the party’s constitutional process at an appropriate time. He acknowledged Bersama would face major challenges entering national politics, but said the party is thinking long-term rather than focusing solely on immediate electoral wins. “Change does not happen simply by winning elections,” he said, pointing to the early struggles of PKR and DAP before they became major political forces. He said Bersama’s focus would be on grooming younger leaders, especially those in their 30s, to contest elections over the next one or two election cycles. “We feel it is time for those of us in our 40s and 50s to train the younger generation,” he said. Rafizi also confirmed he intends to contest Pandan under the Bersama ticket in the next general election, while Nik Nazmi will contest Setiawangsa. The party said it would spend the next few months studying voter sentiment and electoral data before deciding how many seats to contest nationwide. “We need to observe public response over the next one to two months,” Rafizi said. “By July or August, we should be able to decide better.” Rafizi also invited Malaysians to register as party members and contribute financially through crowdfunding via the party’s website .

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