Bersama membership data shows 29 per cent are PKR supporters - Nik Nazmi

SHAH ALAM – Membership data for Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama) shows that 29 per cent of its applicants are PKR supporters, while another 15 per cent come from Malay-based parties including Umno, Bersatu, Pas and Amanah.

Former PKR vice-president Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said 46 per cent – almost half of Bersama’s membership – are Malaysians who have never joined any political party.

He said they may be supporters of either Pakatan Harapan (PH) or Perikatan Nasional (PN), or not politically interested at all, but have chosen to become party members for the first time.

He added that the data was collected when Bersama’s membership reached 18,000 and it has now exceeded 20,000 members.

“We are providing an alternative that voters may not have had before within PH. You (PH) need to improve performance to maintain support and see this as something positive.

“Previously, if we were not aligned or disagreed with certain matters in PKR, we were often asked to leave the party. Now, we have chosen to leave and build a new platform – let us compete healthily.

“We are a new party without significant power or resources. So I think there is no need to instil fear, but we are confident that the people and voters out there want an alternative,” he said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

Previously, Nik Nazmi and former PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli confirmed that they would take over a political party known as Bersama.

The handover of the party, which will be led by the two former ministers, was announced at a political direction announcement event.

This symbolic move indirectly answered questions raised over the past few weeks about Rafizi and Nik Nazmi’s political direction after being “sidelined” from PKR a year ago.

For the record, Bersama is a small political party registered on Dec 2, 2016 in Georgetown, Penang, by its founder, Tan Gin Theam.

Nik Nazmi said the view that the existence of Bersama would split PH voters and possibly PN supporters is misguided.

He explained that winning should be based on PH’s ability to deliver on its promises and remain consistent with its party ideals.

“If PH cannot deliver on those matters, then we will see voters punishing them.

“In Sabah, for example, many talk about Warisan’s victory which gained a portion of urban votes, but voter turnout among traditional PH supporters also dropped significantly.

“This means not all who voted for Warisan voted for it – some stayed home because they were dissatisfied with PH,” he said.