Former Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan has described the idea of him and five other young, progressive politicians coming together and forming a new party as interesting but unrealistic.
While the proposal sounded appealing, he said, the six politicians – Wan Saiful Wan Jan, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, Rafizi Ramli, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Khairy Jamaluddin and himself – differed significantly in both personality and ideology.
“It’s an interesting view, but it won’t happen because we all have our own views and there’s no guarantee of ideological coordination,” he told FMT.
“Those who like the idea might say we’re idealistic and principled, but others will think we’re stubborn and hypocritical. Either way, all of us have a ‘free spirit’ that makes collaboration difficult.”
Shahril was responding to FMT columnist Tajuddin Rasdi, who had proposed that the six – all of whom have been sidelined or removed from their respective parties – form a new political party to promote a progressive brand of Malay politics to challenge narrow racial and religious narratives.
Khairy was sacked from Umno in January 2023, while Shahril was suspended for six years. Wan Saiful was expelled from Bersatu last month while Wan Fayhsal was suspended. They had been accused of breaching party rules.
Rafizi and Nik Nazmi lost in the PKR central leadership polls in May, and subsequently resigned as federal ministers.
Shahril also said the six of them do not share the same voter base, which would complicate efforts to build a single party.
“Those who support Rafizi may not like Khairy, and vice versa. Those who support Wan Fayhsal for his Malay-centric views may not necessarily support Nik Nazmi, who is more technocratic,” he said.
While he acknowledged that the time may eventually come for new political formations to emerge, Shahril said they were each currently focussed on their respective paths.
“The time for a truly new party will come one day. But for now, each of us is fighting our own battles,” he said.
