Why Rafizi’s party is bigger threat to Malaysia’s Anwar than opposition coalition

Former Malaysian economy minister Rafizi Ramli’s breakaway gamble is unlikely to bring down Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on its own, analysts say, but it could still wound the ruling coalition by peeling away reformist voters who helped Pakatan Harapan (PH) take power in 2022.Rafizi and former natural resources and environmental sustainability minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad announced on Sunday that they would quit Anwar’s People Justice Party (PKR), vacate their parliamentary seats and take over Parti Bersama Malaysia (Malaysian United Party), a small party founded in Penang in 2016.The move came the same day that Anwar’s coalition tried to project discipline at a convention in the southern state of Johor, sharpening the sense that Malaysia is drifting into campaign mode before a general election that must be held by February 17, 2028.