JOHOR BAHRU, May 22 — Johor has become the first state to set up a pro-tem committee for the Malaysian United Party (Bersama) nationwide ahead of the coming state election.

Johor Bersama joint interim committee chairman Abd Hamid Ali said the state has recorded more than 2,800 new members from various backgrounds following the party’s establishment last week.

He said Johor’s membership currently consists of about 30 per cent former PKR members, with the majority comprising veteran and founding members.

“The Johor Bersama committee members consist of former PKR state and division leaders, including a former state assemblyman.

“Our decision to leave PKR and join Bersama was made after we lost confidence in our former party’s transparency, especially during the party election last year,” he told reporters during a meeting at the Sangkar Kristal restaurant in Bandar Baru Uda here today.

Abd Hamid, a former Kluang PKR branch chief, said Bersama expects to attract more members ahead of the next election.

He said the party plans to draw in more youths as well as non-partisan individuals.

“At the national level, Bersama has managed to register more than 20,000 new members, including 2,800 members in Johor alone.

“We can hopefully attract more members to prepare for the coming Johor state election and also the general election,” he said.

Former Johor PKR members announce that they have left the party and joined the Malaysian United Party (Bersama) during a press conference held at the Sangkar Kristal restaurant in Bandar Baru Uda, Johor Bahru, May 23, 2026. — Picture by Ben Tan

Meanwhile, former Johor PKR vice-chairman S. Gopalakrishnan said Bersama is prepared to field candidates in all 56 state constituencies in the coming state polls.

“The state committee will also work to identify candidates who are qualified and capable of winning in the state polls.

“Johor Bersama will be discussing the party’s central leadership on our preparations for the coming state elections,” said the former assemblyman.

Last Sunday, former PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli and the party’s vice-president Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad announced their resignations from the party leadership.

The two former ministers also announced that they would helm Bersama, a party initially established in 2016 and registered in Penang.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 — PKR’s Youth wing today dismissed talk of a mass exodus from the party following the departure of two of its senior leaders, insisting only a handful of members had left and that support among younger members remained strong.

According to the New Straits Times, Angkatan Muda Keadilan (AMK) chief Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim said the party had not seen any significant wave of resignations after former deputy president Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli and former vice-president Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad quit PKR on May 17.

“There are some (who have left the party), but only one or two. AMK remains intact and we are even seeing an increase in membership,” he said after officiating a laptop contribution and higher education aid programme at Dewan Jubli Perak, Kota Bharu Polytechnic in Kok Lanas today.

“The Youth wing will continue strengthening its machinery in preparation for the state elections and general election,” he added.

On May 17, Rafizi and Nik Nazmi announced their resignation from PKR and relinquished their positions as the MPs for Pandan and Setiawangsa respectively.

The duo also announced their takeover of Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama), signalling plans to contest in upcoming elections under the new platform.

Muhammad Kamil said PKR remained resilient despite the high-profile exits, pointing to the party’s survival through previous political crises.

“PKR has gone through many episodes. In 2020, many believed the party would collapse, but that assumption proved wrong and in the 15th general election (GE15), we successfully formed the government,” he said.

“Young people are also capable of making sound judgments. Information is easily accessible to everyone, so we wish both of them all the best and thank them for their service.”

SEMPORNA, May 23 — Semporna PKR chief Mohd Amin Abdul Mem has resigned from all party posts and quit PKR after 27 years, citing a shift away from the party’s original reformist principles.

A former teacher who became politically active following the 1998 arrest of Anwar Ibrahim, he said the party had changed due to power-sharing dynamics within the Unity Government and internal leadership shifts.

“PKR today has slightly changed its rhythm. From being brave, firm, honest and principled, it has moved towards compromise, politicking and selectivity,” he said.

He also pointed to internal tensions and the exit of Rafizi Ramli’s faction as signs of deepening issues, while describing the emergence of Parti Bersama Malaysia as a continuation of reformist ideals in a new form.

Mohd Amin expressed gratitude to party leaders and grassroots members before formally announcing his resignation and departure from PKR.

MALAYSIA: Malaysia’s political landscape has changed since last Sunday with the launch of a new party by two former MPs who belonged to the party of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

While their resignations as MPs and their departure from the PKR do not diminish Anwar’s grip on power, it is a massive blow to the Madani, or unity, government.

The reason this is a big blow to Anwar Rafizi Ramli. He is the new leader of the Parti Bersama Malaysia, and until now, it has received more than 9,000 registrations for membership online.

Rafizi is credited with the strategic victory of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) of Anwar Ibrahim in the 2022 elections, and he was perhaps the most creative, the most noticeable and active member of the party until his resignation.

But losing one MP of his calibre should not disrupt PKR. Losing two, with the resignation of Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, who is now the number two of the Bersama party, is also not the end of the world.

However, it is the number of resignations of party cadres and leaders as well as members, with the dissolution of its Student wing and the youth wing of the party in some constituencies, that will add to the pain for PKR in future elections.

And there are talks that several other MPs from Anwar’s party were at the launch of the Bersama party.

Anwar’s party may want to take action against them. That would entail suspending their membership of the PKR and risk losing them completely to Bersama altogether.

Nevertheless, it appears that the new party may actually have a fighting chance, though Rafizi himself has called the new formation a cat that they can kick around in the upcoming general elections.

His intentions are clear, however, as he plans to file candidates in several constituencies to fight against the PKR and Barisan Nasional. This also includes plans to fight against the DAP, a member of the PH coalition.

Rafizi and Nik Nazmi seem to have more sympathisers from the DAP than they have from the PKR today.

According to the duo, more than 35-40% of Malaysian voters are “progressive” or leftist-leaning. This is the group that PH and Anwar seem to have abandoned once they came to power.

They are composed of a big chunk of non-Malay voters and perhaps a percentage of urban Malays.

A user of Facebook thinks this group of voters became politically “homeless” under Anwar.

The user also thinks Rafizi is steering the new party to have a flatter organisational structure, instead of following the traditional parties.

“My guess is they’ll model after something like the Greens’ co-leadership setup.

“He’s also drafted a new constitution from scratch since October, with merit and competence baked in as requirements for office-bearers.

“The idea is that the top team should be fit to form a shadow cabinet and credibly speak on government policy. Not the usual party-warhorse-by-seniority route,” the user says.

Nevertheless, Rafizi has said his launching of the new party is like a hara-kiri. But it is not a do-or-die thing. It appears that this will be a project for the future in which the party will strengthen its base while waiting for the elections.

Things might even be better for Bersama in five years.

Rafizi is a leader who can post every day on his social media accounts. Today, he gave an indication of how the party is going to organise itself from its base.

In a reply to the many messages he is getting from people who are willing to set up branches across the country, he said a party member must register first, while the process to organise the grassroots may take a month.

“Many have sent messages to me offering themselves to open branches in districts or states. My advice is to register as a member at https://bersama.org first. 

“The process to arrange the grassroots organisation will take place within a month from now. BERSAMA must take the approach of the mousedeer, that is to find the most optimum and effective method in arranging the grassroots organisations so that we are agile, clever and brave. 

“The approach that will be taken by BERSAMA in arranging the grassroots organisation is not the same as other party organisations that exist,” he said.

The mousedeer is the logo of the Bersama party.

This article (A ‘harakiri’ move or a strategic move for ex-minister with new party in Malaysia) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

SHAH ALAM, May 21 — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is seeking mutual legal assistance to obtain statements from several individuals in Taiwan and the United Kingdom (UK) to assist in the investigation into the RM1.1 billion investment case.

MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Abd Halim Aman said his party had contacted the Attorney General’s Chambers to seek assistance following the investigation which also involved the jurisdictions of the two countries involved.

He said the process was needed to enable statements and information from the individuals involved to be obtained legally in accordance with regulations and international law.

“This case may take some time in terms of investigation since it involves two different jurisdictions, we need to go through regulations, laws, and so on. So the investigation may take time,” he told Bernama after a working visit to the Selangor MACC office here today.

The visit was his first working visit since assuming his duties as MACC chief commissioner on May 13.

Abd Halim said that so far MACC has recorded statements from 26 individuals including Pandan Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli and his former aide Chai Jin Shern.

Commenting further, he said that documentation for evidence materials for the case was being carried out, including documents submitted by Rafizi.

“We have received the documents from him and they are in our analysis and consideration. That also we will take into consideration, as he sent them voluntarily, we accept them and we will consider them,” he said.

The MACC opened an investigation paper into the case on Feb 16 following complaints from several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who claimed that the project agreement involving a strategic cooperation agreement in the semiconductor industry between the Ministry of Economy and the UK company ARM Limited was made in a hurry and in a biased manner, which is expected to have a financial impact on the government.

The case is being investigated under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009 as well as Sections 420 and 409 of the Penal Code. — Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 — Malaysian politics again faces a major realignment following the dramatic takeover of Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama) by former federal ministers Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

The duo vacated their respective parliamentary seats effective Monday, having exited the ruling PKR following nearly a year of tension after both were defeated at last May’s party polls.

Both former PKR leaders alleged the elections were marred by irregularities.

While Bersama positions itself as an independent, policy-driven alternative, analysts said its entry introduces a volatile variable at the upcoming elections.

Three analysts explain how Bersama could alter Malaysia’s political board:

It could split the urban liberal-centrist votes

The immediate consequence of Bersama going solo could be the fragmentation of the country’s liberal and centrist voter base, said Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, director of Vriens & Partners, a government affairs and public policy consultancy.

Urban, multi-ethnic, and centrist constituencies are typically bedrock seats of the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition but since Bersama is effectively a PKR splinter party, it would likely target these exact demographics, possibly triggering a classic vote-splitting scenario. 

“I think the biggest disruption caused by Bersama would be vote splitting among urban centrist voters. If they split this base, would it be possible they could hand victory to the conservative opposition in marginal seats? I think this could be a possibility,” Shazwan said.

To mitigate this, analysts suggest Bersama will likely be selective and micro-target specific urban profiles. Rafizi and Nik Nazmi had already said they would defend the Pandan and Setiawangsa seats, so it’s more than likely other party candidates would vie for seats with similar profiles, such as Subang.

“What we know now is Bersama is definitely contesting in Pandan and Setiawangsa, and possibly Subang. So they will likely aim for seats with a similar profile,” said Adib Zalkapli, managing director of Viewfinder, a global affairs consultancy.

Bersama unlikely to be vanguard of a strong ‘third force’, for now

The emergence of yet another party championing centrist politics have spurred hope for a third force capable of uprooting the two-party system. But Ibrahim Suffian, who heads Merdeka Centre, a respected pollster, said this is unlikely.

“If you look at Malaysian political history never has a so-called third force succeeded unless they align with a larger, more established coalition,” he said, noting that voting trends over the last few decades have consistently shown little public confidence in small break-off outfits.

Even PKR itself, which is technically an Umno splinter party, had to collaborate with more established parties like PAS and DAP to stand a chance. Even then it won just five seats initially,” the analyst added.

Ibrahim said the case of Malaysia United Democratic Alliance (Muda) corroborates the trend, despite being led by the popular former minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

There is potential to be a ‘kingmaker’ 

Given current trends, no single coalition or party is projected to win an outright parliamentary majority in the next General Election. Political pundits generally predict the next government will almost certainly have to be cobbled together through post-election negotiations once again.

And in a hung parliament, a five to ten seat bloc would theoretically turn Bersama into a crucial swing vote required to break any deadlock, although Rafizi’s launch speech strongly implied that Bersama intends to maintain strict independence and is positioning itself to sit strictly on the crossbenches. 

Still, this independence could give Bersama some leverage to dictate policy concessions in exchange for confidence and supply. 

“They could have some leverage if the matter involves a deadlock (in Parliament) and a deciding swing vote is required. But the biggest kingmakers in any coalition moving forward for now would be Sabah and Sarawak,” said Shazwan.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 — Sateerah Hassan has confirmed her resignation as deputy chief of the Women’s wing of Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s (PKR) Putrajaya division.

Putrajaya PKR Women chief Fasyarini Azahari said the party acknowledged Sateerah’s decision and respected her choice, according to a report published in Sinar Harian today. 

She said the party appreciated Sateerah’s contributions, commitment and service throughout her time in the leadership line-up.

“Every effort and contribution made in strengthening the party’s work, especially involving women’s agendas and the local community, is greatly appreciated.

“In a mature and democratic political organisation, differences in opinion and changes in leadership are normal,” she said in a statement yesterday.

Previously, media reports said former PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli and former party vice-president Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad had officially submitted letters notifying Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul of their resignations as Members of Parliament.

According to the pair, the decision was made following their intention to explore a new political agenda, with plans to contest both seats again under the Parti Bersama Malaysia platform in the next general election.

Commenting further, Fasyarini stressed that the party would continue focusing on strengthening the organisation, safeguarding public welfare and pursuing its reform agenda for the well-being of the people.

“I am confident that the entire leadership and members of PKR Women Putrajaya will continue to move collectively, maturely and professionally.

“This is to ensure the party’s work continues smoothly and remains strong in facing current challenges,” she said.

She also wished Sateerah success in whatever field she chooses to pursue after this.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 — Wangsa Maju Member of Parliament Zahir Hassan has clarified that his attendance at a political direction programme involving former economy minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli and former natural resources and environmental sustainability minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad was to fulfil an invitation from fellow comrades.

In a Facebook post, Zahir said he was invited to attend the programme, which he described as an opportunity to witness their sharing on future political direction.

He also said he respects their decision to vacate their parliamentary seats effective May 18, 2026, and to leave Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) effective May 19, 2026.

Zahir said he believes the decision was made after careful consideration and was not driven by personal interests alone.

He added that, in his view, the actions taken do not violate any laws, including provisions under Article 49A of the Federal Constitution relating to anti-hopping laws, or any party agreements.

He also encouraged the public to refer to the “bersama.org.my” website to better understand the agenda and direction of the initiative.

Zahir stressed that he remains fully committed to his responsibilities to the constituents of Wangsa Maju.