COMMENT | The past few weeks have seen yet another reconfiguration of Malaysian politics, continuing a pattern we have become almost too familiar with.

Not too long ago, we were discussing the “reset” associated with Hamzah Zainudin. This time, the spotlight is on former PKR heavyweights Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, and their new party, Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama).

But let us not beat around the bush. There are many reasons why new parties emerge. Looking at Malaysian political history, almost every major party is, in one way or another, the offspring of an older one.

We could even argue that all Malay-based parties can trace their roots back to Umno in some form. So why do we keep needing new parties?

If we choose to believe in the better angels of our politicians, we might say that new parties are formed to...