Former Sabah party relaunches nationwide as Bersama, vows to challenge status quo
SHAH ALAM, June 10 — A political party with roots in Sabah was relaunched as a nationwide party called Parti Bersatu Sasa Malaysia (Bersama) tonight.
Led by a man called Danial Marnokaran Abdullah, the party said it aims to end what it called “political inheritance.”
“The status quo will be challenged. Mark my words,” Danial said in the opening address of the event, which was attended by around 100 people, mostly elderly folks.
“Today is just the first step. The launch of this party is just the first step. We will announce our second and third steps soonest, and that will substantiate my statement just now to challenge the status quo of political parties in Malaysia.
“No more political inheritance and to birth a new generation of leaders,” he added.
Little was known about the launch tonight until Free Malaysia Today reported an unnamed minor party entering the political fray and attempting to represent all ethnic groups.
The party was formed in 1994 as Parti Demokratik Setiahati Kuasa Rakyat Bersatu Sabah, or Setia before being rebranded to Bersama in 2011.
In a press conference after the launch, Danial stressed that Bersama is not being backed by any funders and would instead rely on the kindness of the public via donations.
This he said, is to enable the party to be free of any political pressure and to only serve the people.
“Fairly it’s being backed by us the leaders right now, and soon it will be backed by the people themselves,” he told the press.
“It is not being backed by any external forces and we are certainly not interested to ride on the external parties’ shoulders, because we will be answerable, and in such situations we will not be able to achieve our objectives.”
Danial said that his party is also only focused on the 16th general election (GE16) and is not looking to contest in any state polls. He is confident that his party will be accepted by the public, as long as the party’s objectives and offerings are genuine.
“I am confident based on myself, and my leaders as well as the people of Malaysia. So there is no doubt on my confidence, and I am certainly not overconfident,” he added.
At the event today, the party’s leadership line-up was also not revealed. Malay Mail was made to understand that this may happen at a separate event.
