By P. Gunasegaram
All seats contested in Selangor is a game changer
Whatever the outcome of elections for the resurrected Parti Bersama Malaysia under former PKR MPs and ministers, 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 end-February 2028.
The significance was evident when Rafizi let on in an interview on Kini TV aired Sunday that current indications are that Bersama will contest all seats in Selangor, where data indicates they have strong support. That’s 22 parliamentary and 56 state seats in the most developed state.
It’s a given it will contest all Federal Territory seats in the peninsula (11 Kuala Lumpur and one 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? (see table).
That means you can include all seats in Penang (13 Parliamentary, 40 state), Perak (24, 59), Negeri Sembilan (8, 36), Melaka (6, 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 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 able to measure acceptance. By end-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 currently held by PKR, DAP, Bersatu, Pas, and Amanah. Profiles show we have potential in all seats. We don’t care if it is Anwar, 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 PH, PN, 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. PH, BN, PN have about equal support plus or minus two percentage points.
“ ‘Not sure’ is the most ticked and has been growing since October, accounting for 32 per cent. The remaining 68 per cent is divided amongst the three. We wanted to know there was empirical evidence for our hypothesis (that a new party was needed). By Feb 2026, we knew there was a market for a new party.”
He said that 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 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 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 they will make in the coming elections. 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 PM Anwar Ibrahim is already reflected in Anwar 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 Trade and Industry Minister, Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz to Pandan. Most likely it will be Zafrul who will contest against Rafizi but it does not seem likely that he has a good chance of winning.
Pakatan Harapan’s Dr 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 trade and industry minister through an appointment to the Senate. He was forced to step down when his six-year term with the senate expired in Dec 2025.
Despite that, Zafrul was appointed Senior Political Advisor to the Prime Minister for a two-year term starting in March 2026 and Chairman of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority, serving a two-year term that began in December 2025.
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 members of PKR.
Zafrul has been cultivating Pandan already, now with Anwar’s direct help with the clear intention to topple Rafizi in the next elections 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 a large number of seats.
For that reason alone elections are likely to be early despite public pronouncements which said commitments by component parties have been given to support 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 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’ Muhammad Fawwaz Mohamad Jan at GE15, defeated by a majority of 5,272 votes, securing 32,366 votes against Fawwaz’s 37,638 votes.
Rafizi needs to be there to fight the good fight but he has to win at Pandan, where PKR will put all their resources in to defeat 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 tip-toeing 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 on it to pressure the government. Pushing our agenda is more important than to go for seats. We intend to disrupt, not to take control,” he said.
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.
P Gunasegaram welcomes this glimmer of hope for the future.
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