THE realm of politics is filled with imagery and metaphors that express complex ideas, emotions and values. While words hold significant power, symbolism is more potent as it goes beyond language and stirs emotions.
The cute kancil logo of Parti Bersama Malaysia aka Malaysian United Party, unveiled on Sunday, is quite astute in this context.
The kancil is celebrated for its wit and ability to outsmart and subdue the brute strength of much larger animals.
Bersama’s logo features a starry-eyed kancil set against a mustard yellow background with an arc of five blue stars above.
The stars represent the principles of the Rukun Negara, yellow stands for the ideals of the Bersih movement and multiracial politics, and blue connotes stability and strength.
“The kancil symbol reflects the kind of political culture and mentality Malaysia needs. We have tremendous potential. But we need to be agile, smart, brave and be willing to take risks,” Rafizi said.
Compared with the kancil, the party’s original symbol was rather drab. It had the letters “MU” encircled in four segments with the word “Bersama” and translations in English, Chinese and Tamil.
Its founder, Tan Gin Theam, handed over an enlarged copy of the party’s registration certificate to Rafizi and Nik Nazmi, symbolising the takeover.
Among the PKR MPs present at the event held in Petaling Jaya were Wong Chen (Subang), Datuk Bakhtiar Wan Chik (Balik Pulau), Rodziah Ismail (Ampang), S. Kesavan (Sungai Siput), Zahir Hassan (Wangsa Maju) and Lee Chean Chung (Petaling Jaya).
The Penang-based political party was registered on Dec 2, 2016. Despite contesting several seats in the 2018 General Election, it remained largely unknown until the handover.
Rafizi failed to retain his PKR deputy president’s post while Nik Nazmi lost as vice-president in the 2025 PKR elections, after which both resigned from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Cabinet.
Rafizi quit as Economy Minister and Nik Nazmi as Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister, respectively. Both had been increasingly critical of Anwar’s administration and leadership of PKR.
During the event, the ex-PKR leaders revealed that they had deployed some kancil-like cunning to circumvent the expected problems in registering a new political party.
“We registered several new parties as decoys so that those in power in Putrajaya would laugh at us, thinking our efforts would go nowhere if approval was denied.
“At the same time, we studied existing small parties and began discussions where there was alignment in intentions and ideas,” said Rafizi, explaining how they ended up with Bersama.
He said Bersama’s existing leadership would remain until he and Nik Nazmi take over through the party’s constitutional process.
Both politicians officially vacated their seats on Monday. In response, PKR secretary-general Datuk Fuziah Salleh said the party would not push for by-elections, as the current parliamentary term has exceeded its three-year mark.
So what does Bersama promise? A multiracial platform geared towards political and institutional reform, generational renewal and as a force to return power back to the people.
The party aims to revive a culture of “goodwill politics” among Malaysians regardless of race, age or economic backgrounds.
It wants to contest elections independently and not join any political coalition. However, one party, Ikatan Demokratik Malaysia (Muda), has already expressed interest in working with Bersama.
There is also speculation of a strategic relationship with Parti Warisan Sabah or other Borneo-based parties.
Bersama plans to stand in any constituency if there is sufficient voter support and political alignment.
It has been speculated that more MPs and assemblymen from PKR could eventually consider joining Bersama, although the anti-party hopping law prevents elected representatives from switching parties.
Rafizi and Nik Nazmi described their new political venture as a “kamikaze mission”, accepting the huge risks involved.
“We know there is no guarantee we will succeed. We might lose our deposits in every seat and be laughed at. We might end up retiring from politics as failures.”
But it is clear that the party is targeting the country’s young voters, particularly Gen Z, now the largest age group representing 29% of the overall population, and also Gen Alpha – and Gen Beta in the long run. They have emerged as the significant but unpredictable factor in the lead-up to the forthcoming state elections and the 16th General Election.
The party is also focusing on the increasing number of voters disillusioned by Pakatan Harapan’s policies and unfulfilled promises.
Bersama wants to provide them the option against Hobson’s Choice – being forced to choose “the best among the bad”.
PH, Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional, however, are worried that Bersama would end up as just a “spoiler party”. To prevent it from gaining traction, rumours are rife that GE16 would be held soon.
Meanwhile, some 8,000 people reportedly registered as members within 24 hours of Bersama’s introduction. Life membership is cheap – at just RM20 – and the party also hopes to raise most of its money through crowdfunding.
Already, comparisons have been made between Bersama and Tamil Nadu’s fledgling party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by former film star C. Joseph Vijay.
The polls in Tamil Nadu earlier this month saw TVK dramatically trouncing the duopoly of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which had been alternatively holding power in the state for almost 60 years.
Buoyed by the support of younger voters, TVK proved itself as a dominant force across several urban and semi-urban belts.
Can the “kamikaze” kancil similarly defy the odds and unseat the deeply-entrenched political behemoths in Malaysia?
The views expressed here are the writer’s own.
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