A good reason to be in a relationship is because you share common interests and ideals — not because you got dumped in your previous one.
If all you share in common with the people you intend to form a relationship with is that you were all dumped from your previous relationships, the chances that your new relationship will succeed are slim.
It’s slim because such a relationship is often born out of rebound energy — a psychological reflex to repair a wounded sense of self-esteem by connecting with someone who “understands your pain”.
The problem is, when two people who are still drowning in the wreckage of their old relationships try to save each other, they often pull one another down instead. As the saying goes: if they knew how to swim, they wouldn’t be drowning in the first place, and if they find themselves in a position where they are drowning because they didn't know how to swim, they are going to cause everyone to drown quicker than save anyone.
Recently, a column in Free Malaysia Today by Tajuddin Rasdi suggested that six ousted young Malay politicians should start a new progressive Malay party — a sort of political rebound relationship meant to inject fresh energy into Malaysia’s tired political scene.
The six names floated were Rafizi Ramli, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Khairy Jamaluddin, Shahril Hamdan, Wan Saiful Wan Jan, and Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal.
It’s an interesting idea — but one that, like a rebound relationship, is likely to go nowhere fast.
Political Rebounds Rarely End Well
Out of the six, Khairy Jamaluddin is on track to return to Umno, the party that once made him a national star. When Khairy returns, Shahril Hamdan — his long-time ally — is expected to follow suit sooner or later. Returning to Umno is the smart move for Khairy and Shahril, and Khairy and Shahril are self evidently smart politicians.
Wan Saiful Wan Jan and Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal were expelled and suspended from Bersatu respectively after rebelling against Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s leadership. But if history is any guide, their exile may be short-lived. Should Muhyiddin’s leadership collapse — a scenario that looks increasingly likely — it’s not hard to imagine that his likely successor, Hamzah Zainudin, will reinstate them and even reward their defiance with higher positions.
That would leave only Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad as the plausible “founders” of this so-called progressive Malay party.
The Empty Center of a Noble Idea
Rafizi and Nik Nazmi’s current predicament is peculiar. Having lost their party elections and resigned from their ministerial posts, they now exist in a kind of political limbo — still within PKR, but often speaking like outsiders. Whether this is a gesture of principle or an act of sulking remains unclear.
But what is clear is that both appear, in Eric Hoffer’s words, to be “haunted by purposelessness.” As Hoffer once wrote:
“Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. Thus people haunted by the purposelessness of their lives try to find new content not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause but also by nursing a fanatical grievance.”
Currently, i feel that Rafizi and Nik Nazmi are in the stage where they are giving meaning to their life by entertaining a fanatical grievance against their party, PKR, but like like Eric Hoffer said, soon they might decide to move to a new phase, or the “dedicate themselves to a holy cause” phase, and at that time, it may be very well that they will be the one that they might be the ones that destiny has chosen to start a “progressive Malay party” or a “progressive Malaysian party” in our country.
The Political Landscape They’d Be Entering
Malaysia’s political field today is already overcrowded with Malay-led parties claiming to represent progress, reform, or Islamic moderation.
- Umno, despite its golden chance to reinvent itself within the unity government, remains trapped in its own nostalgia.
- PAS, once capable of promoting progressive Islamic reformism, has instead drifted toward an insular conservatism that is unlikely to gain appeal outside of its grounds in east and north of Semenanjung Malaysia.
- Bersatu, which once promised to redefine Malay identity, is now consumed by internal feuds and personality battles.
- Amanah, the supposed reformist splinter from PAS, has become so timid that some now call it “Parti Tumpang Negara.”
Despite it being crowded, there is a still room of a progressive party, because the future is rapidly changing, and there is no party in the country that is able to address the drastic change effectively.
This is a time when the AI revolution is changing life as we know it. Capitalism, which used to dominate the world's economy, is likely at its end stage or at least, entered a phase irreversible decline. Civilizations at war is threatening to give birth to the next world war. Not only is war erupting in every corner of the globe, the younger generation are increasingly losing faith on the older generation, so much so that Gen Z is toppling governments all over the world.
Considering that the young are losing hope on the old, and where the old world is anticipated to collapse spectacularly and the new world is expected to be born at the expense of the old, the conditions are ripe that a truly progressive party, that is at least willing to confront the drastic changes ahead, will have a place in our politics.
A Glimmer of Possibility
That said, I certainly see the possibility that Rafizi and Nik Nazmi might be the face of a new progressive party, provided that they deal with their issues with their current party with strength.
If they truly believe that their current party no longer represents their ideals, they should have the courage to leave it — not continue to waste their energy and time “nursing a fanatical grievance” against it. If PKR is hopeless, forget about it la. Instead, why not dedicate yourself to anticipate the world that is to come, by building a progressive party from the ground up.
After all, great things are often achieved by people who didn’t know they were impossible.
As it is often said: You never underestimate a man who overestimates himself. If there were ever a dictionary entry for that phrase, Rafizi Ramli’s picture might well illustrate it.
Rafizi might be the wild card in Malaysia's politics today, but wild cards are not unknown to be the winning cards in the end.
The Future: Three Names to Watch
In the coming decade, I believe three names will dominate Malaysia’s political scene:
- Nurul Izzah Anwar, who alongside Tengku Zafrul Aziz, could well form the next Prime Minister–Deputy Prime Minister duo in a post-Anwar era.
Khairy Jamaluddin, who, perhaps with Shahril by his side, may lead what I call the future Harapan Nasional coalition — a possible PKR–DAP–Umno alliance. Harapan Nasional, by the way , is what i am calling the PKR - DAP - UMNO coalition that i think will happen in the future. Today, it is anwar and pkr that is leading the coalition, but in the post Znwar era, there is no reason to believe why the leadership of the coalition will remain with PKR. If Khairy is the one that is leading umno then, there is no reason why Umno might not head the coalition instead.
- Rafizi Ramli, the wild card. A man whose ambition may yet defy his odds — perhaps through this stillborn idea of a Progressive Malay Party.
It’s an improbable dream, but in Malaysia, improbability has never been a reliable predictor of failure.
And if anyone can make the impossible look possible — even if only for a while — it’s Rafizi.
Related Reading
- Ousted 6 should get together in a new progressive party – Free Malaysia Today
- Ousted 6 party idea interesting but unrealistic, says Shahril – Free Malaysia Today
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