Nurul might jump sinking ship to Bersama.
Malaysian politics is set to face yet another major realignment, and we are not talking about the dramatic emergence of Parti Bersama Malaysia (Malaysian United Party, or MU), an unknown party registered in 2016 that was taken over by former Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli less than 2 weeks ago. Already a major political disruption itself, Bersama is set to trigger even more eruptions.
Signs are everywhere that Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People’s Justice Party or PKR), the reformist party which Rafizi quit due to disappointment over the party president’s – PM Anwar Ibrahim – broken promises to reforms, is in an incredibly panicked mode. The Prime Minister, terrified to face Tambun voters whom he had taken for granted, is considering fleeing to Permatang Pauh.
After Anwar’s daughter, Nurul Izzah, was humiliated after failing to retain her “family heirloom” in the November 2022 national polls, desperado Anwar is crossing his fingers that the 14,000 chickens he distributed to voters in the Permatang parliamentary constituency two months ago could return handsome dividends in the upcoming 16th General Election.
With only seven safe seats (four are held by Rafizi Ramli and his aligned allies) based on PKR’s leaked internal analysis report for the upcoming election, power-crazy party leaders have already started scrambling for safe seats. For example, PKR secretary-general Fuziah Salleh and vice-president Ramanan are fighting tooth and nail to snatch the safe “Batu” parliamentary seat.
The declaration of war by UMNO Johor to contest all 56 seats in the next Johor election – effectively leaving no space for cooperation or negotiation with Premier Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition – was already bad to PKR-led Pakatan Harapan. It became worse after Rafizi unveiled Bersama or MU in a political move set to cannibalise and bleed PKR of its disgruntled reformist supporters.
Not only Johor PKR Chief, Zaliha Mustafa – the same former Federal Territories Minister sitting on the Pardons Board that had granted 50% discount to crooked Najib Razak’s 12-year jail sentence – is persuading various PKR leaders in Johor not to quit the party, but even Anwar himself has been meeting and begging top PKR leaders aligned with Rafizi not to join Bersama.
The party is so chaotic and confused that even disgraced Communication Minister Fahmi Fadzil has resorted to spreading slander, lies and hatred, alleging that Rafizi had spent RM8.6 million to acquire MU or Bersama. You can bet your last penny that this former actor, who only knows how to block social media and websites critical of his political master, will join Anwar as a one-term minister.
Yes, you know PKR, Anwar and his band of bootlickers are panicking when the Communication Minister, who warned people not to share unverified news, becomes the disgusting person who spread fake news. Some pro-Anwar propagandists, bloggers, cyber troopers, YouTubers, and TikTokers even fantasise that 100-year-old ex-PM Mahathir Mohamad was funding Rafizi’s acquisition of MU.
The biggest sign the fake reformist party is about to be annihilated in the next 16th General Election is the sudden appointment of vice-president Amirudin Shari as its co-election director alongside Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, replacing deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar. Exactly what type of message that PKR is sending for “sacking” the “Puteri Reformasi”?
The eldest daughter of PKR president and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was appointed co-election director alongside Saifuddin in June 2025, a month after she defeated Rafizi Ramli for the deputy presidency in the party’s internal election. Under 5-star General Nurul, together with lieutenants Amirudin and Saifuddin, they led PKR and Pakatan Harapan to a disastrous defeat in the November 2025 Sabah state election.
However, to put all the blame squarely on Nurul is absolutely unfair. Anwar, too, had vigorously and tirelessly campaigned in Sabah. Yet, despite the Premier’s huffing and puffing to scam the Sabahans, the voters in the “Land Below the Wind” could see through the snake oil salesman’s lies and deceit. Thanks to serial liar Anwar, all component parties of Pakatan Harapan – PKR, DAP and Amanah – were annihilated.
PKR secretary-general Fuziah Salleh claimed the reshuffle was decided by the party’s political bureau as part of a strategic realignment to streamline and better coordinate work processes in preparation for upcoming elections. “Nurul Izzah will continue playing a strategic role by specifically focusing on developing the capacity of PKR’s election machinery and workflow,” – Fuziah said.
But everyone knows that the sexy job description is a low-ranking job that anyone can do. Get real, if a “first-tier” general like Nurul had failed to lead PKR’s election machinery, do you really expect a “lower-tier” lieutenant like Amirudin, let alone the clueless Saifuddin, could make any difference? It seems without strategist Rafizi, PKR is running around like a headless chicken.
At best, PKR is protecting Anwar’s daughter by moving her away from the firing squad in preparation for a historic defeat in the coming national election. At worst, PKR is sacking her as part of pre-emptive preparation for Nurul’s resignation as PKR deputy president after just 11 months on the job. The party could only hope and pray that Anwar’s princess would not quit.
Two months ago, PKR Deputy President Nurul Izzah Anwar was forced to openly deny viral social media rumours claiming she had resigned from her post. But the rumours were not without credence. Insiders said she had indeed expressed her intention to quit, but was persuaded by Daddy Anwar not to, as the consequences would be unimaginable.
Rafizi’s Parti Bersama Malaysia changes everything. Now Nurul has somewhere to go if she leaves PKR, a party that used to be the favourite amongst the young reformists but has since been devastated by months of internal civil war between the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons. The last thing Anwar and PKR want to see is Nurul joining MU.
Having condemned, mocked, insulted and ridiculed Bersama right, left and centre, it would be a slap in the face of Anwar’s minions if suddenly Anwar’s own daughter announced her membership in MU. Nurul isn’t stupid. She knew PKR was a sinking ship. After all, she was in the centre of the PKR internal analysis that identified only seven “Tier 1” safe parliamentary seats out of the 66 seats the party expects to contest.
Here’s proof that Nurul does not give two hoots about PKR or Pakatan Harapan anymore. She was missing from the high-profile Pakatan Harapan convention in Johor on May 17 – the same day Rafizi pulled the curtain to introduce his new ship, Malaysian United Party. In fact, she even skipped PKR Permatang Pauh’s meeting despite being the head of the branch.
The question isn’t about whether Nurul should join Bersama. The burning question is whether MU should accept Nurul. Even if Rafizi can’t stop Nurul from joining his new party, should Anwar’s daughter be nominated as an MU candidate in the next general election? Exactly why should she enjoy special privilege after her treachery and willingness to become her daddy’s chess piece in toppling Rafizi?
Bersama, having attained more than 18,000 membership registrations within its first five days, has revealed some shocking data that is sending shivers down PKR’s top leadership’s spine. While 46% of members had no prior political affiliation, the largest share of politically affiliated members came from PKR at 29%, followed by UMNO at 6.3%, Amanah and Bersatu at 2.5% each.
Worse, Malays made up 62% of MU’s new members, followed by Chinese (15%), Indians (14%), Muslim bumiputera from Sabah and Sarawak (4%), non-Muslim bumiputera from Sabah and Sarawak (3%), and others (2%). This means not only is MU a game-changer despite ridicule from blind Anwar fanatics, but it is also disrupting the political landscape of not only PKR, but also other Malay political parties.
In terms of age demographics, millennials formed the largest group at 40.8%, followed by Gen X at 36%, baby boomers and older members at 16.3%, and Gen Z at 7%. Crucially, Bersama’s geographic reach appeared concentrated in the Malay areas of Selangor – the crown jewel of PKR. This also means MU could potentially disruptively threaten PKR’s power base in Selangor.
It’s not rocket science that Rafizi’s hidden plan is to snatch Selangor – the most developed state – from Amirudin’s administration. Bersama’s membership in terms of ethnic composition is a warning to rivals as it broadly mirrors Malaysia’s population makeup. It could become the first true multiracial party which ethnic Malays embrace without fear, something which Anwar could only dream of achieving.
That explains why Communication Minister cum Propaganda Minister Fahmi Fadzil had to play dirty by spreading slander, lies and hatred. That also explains why PKR is trembling in fear about losing Nurul to MU, as the indirect impact would be like a tsunami wiping out PKR. Even con artist Anwar can’t explain why his own daughter has to leave for rival MU if indeed PKR is such a great party.
MU estimates it could start announcing the first batch of potential candidates by the end of June, just in time for a possible announcement of a snap election in Johor, potentially triggering more state elections and even a national poll. Regardless of whether Nurul would join Bersama or not, the damage to PKR is done. Anwar is game over if Rafizi can convince half of PKR supporters to jump ship. – Finance Twitter