COMMENT | Political divorce is hard to be amicable, especially under a First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system. Both sides have the incentives to compete for the same vote base, like parents competing for exclusive custody of their children.

One rare exception was Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku’s pullout from Gabungan Rakyat Sabah before the last Sabah state election.

The Anwar Ibrahim-Rafizi Ramli divorce is inevitably unamicable. But the degree of mess can still differ vastly, depending on how both sides play it out.

In launching Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama), Rafizi has expectedly been scratchy in criticising PKR and Pakatan Harapan. Expectedly, PKR and Harapan want to hit back. Their best revenge is, of course, smashing Bersama in the general election.

Our FPTP system has not been very kind to new multiethnic parties – even as part of Barisan Alternative, PKR won only five (2.6 percent) out of 193 seats despite winning 11.5 percent of votes in its debut election in 1999.

But Bersama has the potential to cause defeats for PKR and Harapan even if it does not win.

Retaliation and legitimacy in public eyes

That’s why PKR is keen to cause damage to...