Malaysia Edition: Anwar’s latest headache is Rafizi’s new party

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The biggest open secret in Malaysian politics is finally official: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s former number two has found a new party.

Former Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Rafizi Ramli has “joined” Parti Bersama Malaysia, or the Malaysian United Party. It is effectively a takeover of the dormant, decade-old outfit that failed to make a mark at the 2018 General Election.

Alongside the former economy minister is former PKR vice-president Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, who quit the Anwar Cabinet a year ago with Mr Rafizi. The duo had lost the controversial party polls, which were marred by allegations of vote-rigging and bribery.

Since then, they have led about 10 MPs in criticising government policies, especially the failure to fulfil election pledges that carried the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition into power after the 2022 General Election.

Bersama adds to an increasingly crowded field of parties vying for primacy since the once-dominant Barisan Nasional’s (BN) uninterrupted six-decade rule was brought to a halt in 2018. Practically all have failed to make significant headway.

But Bersama feels different – a potential case of being at the right time and the right place. Team Rafizi still needs to make the right calls before national polls, due by February 2028 but expected as early as the second half of 2026.

Last week, we examined whether PH’s core support of progressive voters, disappointed with the Anwar administration, have other options. The other two main national coalitions are the Islamist-led Perikatan Nasional and UMNO’s BN, which remains tainted by a history of graft scandals.

The question now is whether Bersama can convince these voters that it will not be another round of broken promises.

At a townhall last week, a PKR MP aligned with Mr Rafizi was bombarded with questions: since Mr Rafizi and his team had implored voters to pick Datuk Seri Anwar in 2022, why listen to them again?

It is an object lesson in not taking supporters for granted – and certainly not the first in Malaysian history.

UMNO used to have the Malay majority sewn up, but no longer. The Democratic Action Party (DAP) has dominated Penang with landslide majorities since the state suddenly dumped Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia in 2008. Yet, concern is growing within the largest component in Mr Anwar’s ruling alliance that the next Penang state election could be a close-run thing.

Such swings could present a second chance for the likes of Gerakan, the Malaysian Chinese Association, and the Malaysian Indian Congress, which were founding parties during independence, but are now at the fringes of national politics.

After all, Malaysians love to cling to their heritage. As correspondent Hadi Azmi discovered, traditional Malay kampung houses have found a new lease of life as resorts, museums, and movie sets.

Whether the old or the new will benefit from mounting unhappiness with the Anwar administration remains to be seen. This line-up of stories from the Malaysia bureau aims to dissect the conundrum. If you have your own take, let us know.