Bersatu co-founder Rais Hussin exits party

Former Bersatu Supreme Council member Rais Hussin has announced his departure from the party he co-founded in 2015.

(FMT) – Rais, who said he handed in his resignation letter yesterday, added that he has not been active in the party since 2020 following a heart procedure, and also due to his focus on developing the EMIR Research think tank.

“Although I am not a member of Bersatu, I will still actively pursue my struggle for a better Malaysia based on five core principles: reforms, justice, inclusiveness, progressiveness, and wasatiyyah (justly balanced approach),” he said in a statement.

“This is what led me to co-found Bersatu then despite the monumental tasks ahead.”

Rais, who is a former Malaysia Digital Economy Corp (MDEC) chairman, is currently the president and CEO of EMIR Research, a think tank focused on strategic policy recommendations.

He was appointed to the Bersatu Supreme Council in 2016 but stayed out of the party elections in 2020.

He said that throughout his active role in Bersatu, he never shied away from “speaking the brutal truth to the powers that be”, adding that this always came at a personal cost to him.

“Be that as it may, I cherished the various responsibilities given (to me) in the party and then in the Pakatan Harapan coalition,” he said.

“It has been a very educational and experiential journey from 2015, and I have learned much from this political voyage that will surely help guide and shape me moving forward.”