Rafizi says new party Bersama to go solo in next polls, vows no coalition deals

PETALING JAYA, May 17 — Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli today declared that his new political platform, Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama), will contest future elections as an independent force and will not align itself with any political coalition.

Speaking at a press conference here today following the announcement of Bersama’s takeover of an existing party structure, Rafizi said the movement would adopt a multiracial, open-platform approach and field candidates across constituencies currently held by both government and opposition blocs.

“We are not going for any coalition. We are not bound by negotiating over seats or dealing with specific parties. We are multiracial and we can contest anywhere,” he said.

Rafizi said the party’s long-term objective is to build a political movement centred on ideas and generational renewal, drawing parallels with the early years of PKR and DAP.

He acknowledged that Bersama would face early constraints and challenges, but said such obstacles were not unusual for new political movements.

“If you look at PKR or DAP in their early years, they did not succeed at first. But over time, their ideas grew, and those ideas brought change,” he said.

Rafizi said Bersama would prioritise younger candidates, with those in their 30s expected to be groomed and given opportunities to contest in upcoming polls.

“We feel it is time for those of us in our 40s and 50s to take a step back and train the younger generation. That is the focus of Bersama,” he said.

He added that the party would assess public response over the next one to two months before finalising its strategy for the next general election, which he suggested could become clearer by July or August.

Rafizi also confirmed that he would contest the Pandan parliamentary seat under Bersama in the next general election, while Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad would contest Setiawangsa.

He said the party would field candidates in seats across the country if there was sufficient alignment with voter sentiment, regardless of whether those constituencies were held by Pakatan Harapan, Barisan Nasional or Perikatan Nasional.

“God willing, wherever we see a need, Bersama will offer itself to contest in the upcoming series of elections. Regardless of whether the seats are currently held by PKR, DAP, Amanah, Umno, PAS or Bersatu, we will field strong candidates from the new generation if we assess that there is both a need and an opportunity,” he said in his speech earlier.