Anwar's deputy rival launches new party, triggering exodus from ruling coalition

A former insider who lost a power struggle within Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's own party has now transformed a dormant political vehicle into an emerging threat that could split the reform vote ahead of crucial tests at the ballot box.

Rafizi Ramli, who was defeated in the deputy presidency race of the People's Justice Party (PKR) just a year ago, took control of Parti Bersama Malaysia—or Bersama, meaning "together"—in May alongside fellow ex-minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad. The rebranded party is barely three months old under its new leadership but has already begun pulling defectors from the ruling coalition.

Fresh defection deepens Anwar's troubles

Wong Chen, a three-term member of parliament who spent nearly two decades in PKR, resigned his Subang seat on August 10 and joined Bersama, marking the third high-profile departure in recent weeks. The exodus comes at a particularly vulnerable moment for Anwar's Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, which has suffered consecutive defeats in state elections at the hands of Barisan Nasional—once a bitter rival but now a federal governing partner.

Bersama positions itself as a progressive alternative rather than merely a vote-splitter, but the immediate effect is to open a second front for the ruling alliance. The new party is targeting reform-minded voters—precisely the constituency that Pakatan Harapan depends on and cannot afford to hemorrhage.

A grudge turned into a movement

Rafizi's trajectory illustrates the personal feuds that drive Malaysian politics, according to observers familiar with the landscape. His loss in the internal PKR leadership contest has now been channeled into a breakaway operation designed to siphon support from the very coalition he once helped build.

The defections signal broader dissatisfaction within the reformist camp, threatening to fragment the opposition to conservative forces just as Anwar's government navigates a fragile power-sharing arrangement with its traditional adversaries.

Source: South China Morning Post