Negeri Sembilan State Election Will Be Without Bersama

SEREMBAN, July 15 — Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama) has officially withdrawn from the upcoming Negeri Sembilan state election. The party decided to skip the polls entirely to redirect its political machinery toward the impending Melaka state election instead.

The party’s top leadership trio, consisting of Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, and Syukri Razab, announced the decision in a joint statement today. They explained that the choice was made after assessing recent political developments across the state. They also noted that acute time and resource constraints heavily influenced the withdrawal from the Negeri Sembilan state election.

Instead of spreading their campaign assets thin, the party intends to focus heavily on its next electoral outing. The leaders confirmed that they will immediately kickstart their next campaign phase.

“An initial preparatory meeting for the Melaka state election will be held on July 21 to identify seats and begin screening prospective candidates so that they can be announced well in advance,” the leaders stated in their joint release.

The announcement comes at a critical time as the statutory timelines for the local polls have already been activated. The Election Commission (EC) previously fixed August 1 as the official polling day for the state, with nomination day scheduled for this Saturday, July 18, and early voting set for July 28.

Bersama’s tactical retreat follows a difficult political debut in the southern region earlier this month. In the Johor state election held on July 11, the newly formed party failed to secure a breakthrough. Contesting for the very first time in its history, Bersama lost in all 15 constituencies it contested.

-NMT