Bersama may not have political clout to bring down the prime minister but may chip away support among his reformist base, analysts say
4-MIN READ4-MIN ListenIman Muttaqin YusofPublished: 4:16pm, 22 May 2026Former Malaysian economy minister Rafizi Ramli’s breakaway gamble is unlikely to bring down Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on its own, analysts say, but could still wound the ruling coalition by peeling away reformist voters who helped Pakatan Harapan (PH) take power in 2022.Rafizi and former natural resources and environmental sustainability minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad announced on Sunday that they would quit Anwar’s People Justice Party (PKR), vacate their parliamentary seats and take over Parti Bersama Malaysia, a small party founded in Penang in 2016.The move came the same day that Anwar’s coalition tried to project discipline at a convention in the southern state of Johor, sharpening the sense that Malaysia is drifting into campaign mode before a general election that must be held by February 17, 2028.
The Election Commission on Wednesday said there would be no by-elections for Rafizi’s Pandan seat or Nik Nazmi’s Setiawangsa seat after lower house Speaker Johari Abdul informed it there was no requirement to fill the vacancies under Article 54(1) of the Federal Constitution.
Rafizi, once deputy president of Anwar’s PKR and widely seen as one of PH’s sharpest campaign strategists, built his political brand on data-driven attacks, viral messaging and bread-and-butter issues that spoke to urban voters frustrated with old-style politics. He rose as one of the coalition’s most recognisable reformist figures before falling out with the party establishment after losing the PKR deputy presidency last year.
