Former People’s Justice Party (PKR) deputy president Rafizi Ramli says members who choose to leave the party or remain within the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition should not regard each other as enemies.
Speaking on the Lebih Masa podcast hosted by former PKR vice-president Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Rafizi said he still has many close friends in PKR and respected those who decided to remain with the party.
According to him, every individual has personal reasons for joining, staying in, or leaving a political party.
Rafizi recently quit PKR to take over Parti Bersama Malaysia alongside Nik Nazmi.
He stressed that their move should not be viewed as a “zero-sum game” where anyone who does not support them is automatically treated as an enemy.
“I think that separates us from Azmin Ali’s cartel, where it was ‘you are either with us or against us’,” Rafizi said during the podcast.
The remarks referenced the 2020 Sheraton Move, when former PKR deputy president Azmin Ali and several aligned MPs left PKR, triggering the collapse of the PH federal administration at the time.
Despite his departure, Rafizi said those remaining in PKR should reflect on why they chose to stay, adding that he personally no longer recognised PKR as the party he initially joined.
In a separate discussion, Rafizi claimed PH could still secure between 80 and 90 parliamentary seats even in its weakest condition due to support from progressive-minded voters.
He estimated that around 35 to 40 per cent of Malaysian voters hold progressive political views and would likely continue supporting PH if no stronger alternative emerged.
However, Rafizi cautioned that such support should not be seen as loyalty towards any single political leader.
“It’s not because Anwar Ibrahim is great, or Mohamad Sabu is good at speaking. It has nothing to do with me either,” he said.
“It’s because in our society, 35 to 40 per cent of voters are progressive-minded.”
Rafizi said Bersama aims to provide a fresh political alternative for younger voters and progressive Malaysians seeking a different option in future elections.
Although he acknowledged the party could struggle in the next general election, he expressed confidence that Bersama could grow stronger in subsequent elections if it remained committed to its principles of ideas, credibility and honesty.
