KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Bersama Malaysia’s Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli says Pakatan Harapan (PH) supporters are going through four stages of grief as support for his party continues to grow.
Rafizi said Bersama’s membership was approaching 30,000, boosted by PH’s defeats in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan polls. The PH coalition consists of PKR, DAP and Amanah.
“PH supporters are going through the four stages of grief. First was denial, second is anger, it will be followed by sadness, and finally acceptance,” Rafizi said.
“Right now, 25 per cent of our membership are former Parti Keadilan Rakyat members, 15 per cent are from other Malay political parties, with a handful from DAP.
“The majority, some 60 per cent, are people who have never been members of any political party. They have decided to join us as they want a change.”
Rafizi met members of the media after accepting Wong Chen as Bersama’s newest member. Wong quit as Subang MP on Monday. He also left PKR.
Wong said his resignation as MP was a difficult but necessary decision after he concluded that he could no longer effectively pursue reforms from within the government.
“I resigned on Monday at 5pm. It was a very difficult decision to make, but necessary and, in my view, warranted.”
He also confirmed that he had resigned from PKR on Tuesday, ending his 17-year membership of the party.
Wong said the sequence was necessary because of the anti-party hopping law, which requires him to first vacate his parliamentary seat before leaving PKR and joining another party.
“It was a heartbreaking moment, for sure. But, with the current laws as they stand, particularly the anti-hopping law, people need to understand that the process has to be: first, resigning as a Member of Parliament; then resigning as a member of that party; and then applying to become a member of the new party,” he said.
Wong said he was looking forward to contributing to Bersama’s policy platform, drawing on his experience as a corporate lawyer and former MP.
“I’m very keen to help shore up the policy side of things,” he said, referring to his previous work on social, political and economic policies, as well as the alternative budget.
He said Bersama needed to demonstrate that it was serious about reform.
“Every political party needs to show its real position on everything, not just talk about reform and then not carry out reform,” he said.
Wong said he believed Bersama could offer voters a progressive, multiracial alternative ahead of the next general election.
“Malaysian politics has gone through a very toxic phase. We’re here to show you what a multiracial front in Malaysia can look like.”
Wong’s decision to leave PKR and Parliament also followed his removal as chairman of a government-linked company. He said he had been removed without notice or an explanation, despite the company having a projected profit of about RM12.13 million.
“I took this as a personal insult. If you want to remove me, yes, go ahead. But there was no explanation given,” he said.
Wong said he had yet to receive a call from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim regarding the decision.
“Until today, I have not received a call from the Prime Minister. It was his ultimate decision as Finance Minister, and the GLC is owned by the Finance Ministry,” he said.
He also criticised the blocking of access to his constituency’s community funds portal, saying the move affected his constituents rather than himself.
“By blocking that, you hurt my people. You don’t really hurt me. You basically take away my powers as the Member of Parliament in charge of the funds for my community, which I was elected to look after,” he said.
Wong said no replacement had been appointed to oversee Subang’s constituency affairs since his resignation. He rejected suggestions that his office had been poorly managed or that community funds had been distributed without accountability, saying his parliamentary record showed he had fulfilled his responsibilities.
“The job of an MP is not to treat the symptoms. It’s not to look after your longkang or your roads,” he said.
“We are there to pass laws. We are there to drive policies. We are also there to pass the national budget.”
Wong said he had worked on legislative matters, served on the Public Accounts Committee and the International Trade and International Relations Committee, and helped prepare an alternative government budget.
He said his decision to resign was ultimately driven by the need to uphold the second part of his parliamentary oath – to defend the Federal Constitution and democracy.
Wong also criticised the government’s handling of several reform issues, including its refusal to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry into allegations involving former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki.
Asked whether he would contest the Subang parliamentary seat for Bersama at the next general election, Wong said the decision would ultimately be up to the party.
“That’s up to Bersama. But the presumption is, of course, that I will be working in Subang.”
Wong said he planned to set up an office in Subang and return to the ground to explain his decision to constituents.
He acknowledged that some residents remained angry over his resignation, but said the reaction on his social media platforms had been largely positive.
“I hope that the people of Subang will understand what I’m trying to say to you and accept what I’ve done,” he said.
