MALAYSIA’S ANWAR WINS BREATHING SPACE AMID OPPOSITION GAINS

Sun 13 August 2023:

In crucial regional elections, Malaysian voters supported the status quo, giving the conservative opposition and the government coalition of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim control of three states each.

Following the heated general election in November, Saturday’s elections in six of Malaysia’s 13 states were largely viewed as a referendum on Anwar’s leadership and the strength of the opposition, which includes the religiously conservative Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS).

According to election commission data, Selangor and Penang, the two richest states in the nation, as well as Negeri Sembilan, were won by Anwar’s multiethnic Pakatan Harapan (PH) alliance.

The outcomes also demonstrated that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) alliance, which is supported by PAS, maintained its control over the heartland states of Kedah, Kelantan, and northern Terengganu.

At a late-night press conference, Anwar praised the outcomes and urged unity.

“This is a decision of the people. We have to respect this decision,” the prime minister said.

“The federal government remains strong after this poll and we will continue to promote a prosperous Malaysia,” he added.

The opposition, however, called the outcome a “defeat” for the ruling coalition.

Muhyiddin Yassin, who leads the PN, noted strong gains by the opposition bloc, including in Selangor where it increased its share of seats from five in the previous election to 22 and denied the ruling coalition its two-thirds majority.

The opposition alliance increased its seat total in Penang from one to eleven while increasing its seat total in Negeri Sembilan from zero to five.

“The state polls are a referendum by the people rejecting the unity government led by Pakatan Harapan,” Muhyiddin said of the result, calling it “very encouraging.”

He advised Anwar and Zahid Hamidi, his deputy, to step down in order to “take responsibility for this defeat.”

Analysts claimed that the outcome relieved Anwar of pressure and would strengthen the stability of his nascent government.

The 76-year-old lawmaker took leadership of a unity government in November following a general election that produced an unusual deadlocked parliament.

Anwar’s PH had won the most seats but fell short of the outright majority needed to form a government. At the behest of the king, the PH and rival parties, including former foe, the corruption-tainted United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), came together to secure a two-thirds parliamentary majority.

However, according to analysts, this loose partnership is viewed as unstable and requires more backing from the Malay majority.

Many Malays believe their economic privileges under a decades-old affirmative action scheme and their Islamic identity may be threatened by Anwar’s perceived too-liberal stance. More than two-thirds of Malaysia’s 33 million inhabitants are Malay.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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