adminIPOH: The United Malaysia Party (Bersama) will not join any political coalition in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan State Elections (PRN).
Co-founder Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli said the decision not to join any coalition gives the party the freedom to determine its own strategy without being bound by negotiations or political compromises.
According to him, the current political landscape shows that voters are increasingly tired of the coalition approach which is seen as no longer offering the expected reforms.
“So you have Pakatan Harapan (PH), Barisan Nasional (BN), Perikatan Nasional (PN) and now people are expecting another round of coalitions.
“But I think people are fed up and tired of the coalition.
“In fact, we see that there is sufficient support for a party that is not affiliated with any party because it frees us from being bound by the coalition’s stance,” he told reporters in conjunction with the Perak Kancil Tour here on Sunday.
The former Deputy President of the People’s Justice Party (PKR) also explained that Bersama does not see its existence as a ‘third force’ as is often labelled towards other small parties.
On the contrary, he said, the term is still within the old framework which depends on the formation of political coalitions.
“Our hypothesis and offer are very different from other parties claiming to be the third force in the election,” he said.
However, Rafizi admitted that it was still too early to assess the true strength of Bersama given that the party was only formed about three weeks ago.
He explained that the true level of support can only be measured when the election campaign begins, and depends on the strength of the candidates being presented.
“In the history of Malaysian politics, new parties are bound to face tough challenges. So I can only judge when the campaign starts later.”
“So far, we are confident that we can have a good campaign with different offers to voters in Johor and Negeri Sembilan,” he said.
The Election Commission (EC) has set the polling day for the Johor state election on July 11, while the Negeri Sembilan state election will be on August 1.
– Agency
