If you ask me what Bersama's greatest asset is today, I would not say its manifesto.
I would not say its leaders.
I would not even say its policies.
I would say its freshness.
Bersama's greatest strength is that it is not PKR, not DAP, not Umno, not PAS, and not Bersatu.
It is different.
And in a political environment where millions of Malaysians have grown tired of the same faces, the same arguments and the same disappointments, being different is a powerful thing.
People are willing to forgive a new party for lacking experience.
They are willing to forgive a new party for making mistakes.
What they will not forgive is a new party that turns out to be just another boring version of the old ones.
When voters lend Bersama their ears, what they want to hear is not another policy lecture.
What they want to hear is why this party is different.
They are looking for a movement.
They are looking for excitement.
They are looking for possibility.
Most of all, they are looking for hope.
Yet, thus far, Bersama appears to be squandering precisely the qualities that made people interested in it in the first place.
The party's 12-point manifesto may contain many worthy ideas. It may even contain some brilliant ones.
But a manifesto that nobody reads might as well not exist.
Politics is not an examination.
The public does not reward the politician who writes the longest answer.
Worse, now the party appears ready to double down on that same approach that made its manifesto ignored.
Recently, Rafizi Ramli revealed that Bersama has received encouraging responses from professionals, intellectuals and former senior government officials interested in joining the party.
"I have personally reviewed each application. The response from professionals, intellectuals and former senior government officials has been very encouraging," Rafizi reportedly told Sinar Harian.
To Rafizi,this might sound impressive.
For me, it sounds worrying.
It sounds worrying, because it sounds very boring and yawn inducing.
No voter has ever stood under the hot sun for hours at a political rally because they want to hear from retired bureaucrats and out of work lecturers.
Movements are built on stories.
Movements are built on emotion.
Movements are built on belief.
What Bersama seems to be offering instead is a collection of credentials.
If this continues, attending a Bersama ceramah may soon feel less like attending a political rally and more like attending a university seminar.
Or a corporate workshop.
Or a briefing by the Public Service Department.
I don't know about you, but that sounds like a rather expensive way to put people to sleep.
Of course, Bersama's supporters will argue that the party is playing the long game.
They will say that it is laying foundations.
That it is building patiently.
That it views politics as a marathon rather than a sprint.
Perhaps.
But there is another possibility.
The possibility is that Bersama never becomes anything more than a flicker.
The possibility is that it burns out before it catches fire.
After all, a flame needs fuel.
And the fuel that Bersama appears to be relying on — lengthy policy documents, intellectual discourse, technocratic language and a parade of academics and professionals — may be too heavy to sustain a young political movement.
Politics is not merely a contest of candidates.
It is also a contest of imagination.
The parties that succeed are not necessarily those with the best policies.
They are often the ones that tell the most compelling stories.
Which brings us to Rafizi himself.
There was a time not too long ago when Rafizi was one of the most exciting figures in Malaysian politics.
But that was when he was playing the role of Hang Jebat.
As the rebel, he was formidable.
He was fearless.
He was relentless.
He was the lone warrior challenging the entire machinery of the state.
Whether exposing scandals, attacking corruption or taking on powerful interests, Rafizi knew how to command attention.
In that role, he often looked capable of outshining Anwar Ibrahim himself.
But something changes when Rafizi tries to become the establishment rather than challenge it.
It just goes to show, that the qualities that makes you a great Hang Jebat are not necessarily the qualities that will make you a great Sultan of Malacca.
A rebel only needs to convince people that something is wrong.
A leader must convince people that he knows what is right.
A rebel tears down.
A leader builds.
As Hang Jebat, Rafizi was a giant.
As a prospective Sultan of Malacca, however, he appears, at least for now, not like a dwarf.
Bersatu seems to have lost its magic.
And without that magic, Bersama risks becoming something that no political party can afford to become.
Not hated.
Not feared.
Not opposed.
But ignored.
Because the greatest danger facing a new political party is not defeat.
It is irrelevance.
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