KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 (Reuters) – Two prominent former Malaysian ministers announced on Sunday they would vacate their parliamentary seats and resign from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ruling party to join a new party that they have taken over.
The move by Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, who resigned from cabinet last year after losing leadership posts in internal party elections, is expected to be a challenge for Anwar, amid speculation of an early election this year.
The next general election is not due until 2028, but two lawmakers told Reuters in March they could be called as early as July, to coincide with several state polls.
Rafizi, the former economy minister, once served as deputy president in Anwar’s People’s Justice Party (PKR) and was widely seen as his potential successor.
But he has become a vocal critic of Anwar’s government following his loss in the party elections.
In a joint announcement on Sunday, Rafizi and ex-environment minister Nik Nazmi said they would vacate their respective parliamentary seats on Monday and would write to inform the speaker of their resignations.
They also said that they will officially quit PKR and later join the little-known Malaysian United Party, which was set up in 2016 and has been mostly active in the northwestern state of Penang.
(Reporting by Ashley Tang and Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Jamie Freed and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
