BERSAMA’S plan to contest every parliamentary and state seat in Selangor faces a major test of whether the fledgling party can build an electoral base without an alliance with established parties, says political analyst Dr Azmi Hassan.
Azmi, of the Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research, was responding to former Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung’s statement recently that Bersama was targeting Selangor with the eventual aim of forming the state government.
Lee, who joined Bersama this week, said the party viewed Selangor as its biggest opportunity, citing its urban electorate and the presence of many of Bersama’s key leaders in the Klang Valley.
Azmi said the reasoning was understandable but pointed to Bersama’s record in Johor as a concern.
“It is understandable why Bersama is targeting Selangor because of the perception that Selangor voters are urban and more progressive in their thinking.
“But what happened in Johor, and its decision not to contest in Negeri Sembilan, makes it difficult to see how Bersama can succeed in Selangor or elsewhere, including Melaka, if it continues to go it alone,” he said.
Bersama contested 15 seats in the Johor state election but failed to win any.
The party sat out Negeri Sembilan and plans to contest 16 seats in the coming Melaka state election.
Lee said that Bersama’s electoral strategy was divided into three phases — starting with what the party had described as a “kamikaze mission” in Johor, followed by establishing a foothold in Melaka before moving towards its ultimate goal of winning seats.
For Melaka, Lee said the immediate objective was to ensure its candidates retained their deposits.
Azmi said the Johor result offered little evidence so far that Bersama could make a breakthrough by contesting independently.
He said Perikatan Nasional’s interest in Selangor was on a different footing, given its established political machinery and previous electoral performance in the state.
Azmi also cited former Selangor menteri besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, whose political base and experience in the state, he said, gave an alliance involving Bersatu a more established footing.
“Bersama has no evidence yet that it can move alone and win the state,” he said.
Lee said Bersama ultimately hoped to win between 10 and 20 parliamentary seats, mainly in urban constituencies, arguing that such a bloc could wield significant influence if the next Parliament produced a hung government or a narrow majority.
For now, however, Azmi said Bersama’s performance in Melaka would be a more immediate measure of whether the party could build the political strength required for its longer-term ambitions.
“If there is still no positive result for Bersama in Melaka, then it will be even harder to see how it can make an impact in Selangor,” he said. – October 7, 2026
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