Bersama president Rafizi Ramli has announced that the party aims to field 70 percent of candidates aged under 50 for the upcoming Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections, signalling the party’s focus on youth representation.
Speaking in Negeri Sembilan, Rafizi said the party would also prioritise women candidates across all communities. “We need women candidates of calibre from the Malay, Chinese and Indian communities to join us,” he was quoted as saying by Harian Metro.
Rafizi urged party members not to dispute the party’s seat allocation methods, emphasising that every member has a chance of becoming a candidate regardless of gender or race.
“Eligible candidates will be matched with the appropriate seats. Some seats are more suitable for Malay candidates, while others are suited to Chinese or Indian candidates. The process for this is quite complicated,” he explained.
The former PKR deputy president noted that 30 percent of candidates would be aged 50 and above, which he described as a sizeable allocation, particularly if Bersama contests all available seats.
Bersama, which was launched just three weeks ago, has already attracted approximately 25,000 members. Rafizi noted that none of the members are established figures in Malaysian politics, calling it a “good achievement” given that he did not expect significant interest when the party was first announced.
“I thought only crazy people would join, because this party is going up against all the other parties and doesn’t have any big names,” he said, expressing hope that the party would maintain its growth momentum to reach a membership target of 50,000.
Rafizi emphasised that Bersama’s lack of affiliation with other political coalitions provides the party with flexibility to contest as many seats as it wishes across both Johor and Negeri Sembilan.
The party’s entry into the electoral landscape adds a new dimension to the upcoming state polls, which are already shaping up to be highly competitive. Established coalitions including Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Harapan, and Perikatan Nasional are all preparing their campaign strategies.
Bersama’s focus on youth and women candidates could appeal to segments of the electorate seeking alternatives to traditional party politics. However, the party faces significant challenges in building name recognition and organisational capacity ahead of the June 27 nomination deadline for Johor and the August 1 polling date for Negeri Sembilan.
Political observers will be watching closely to see how Bersama’s candidate slate shapes up and whether the party can translate its membership growth into electoral performance.
Sources: Free Malaysia Today, Harian Metro
