https://www.scmp.com/rss/521973/feed The latest news and top stories on Pakatan Harapan. A prominent Malaysian political coalition, Pakatan Harapan (PH) is headquartered in Petaling Jaya. Dedicated to safeguarding public welfare and governing with integrity, its primary mission involves fostering sustainable economic growth and preparing the nation for future challenges. PH focuses on combating corruption, enhancing democracy and implementing institutional reforms. Notably, it made history by forming the government in 2018, ending... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Muhammad Syafiq, a 25-year-old banker from Kuala Lumpur, has started noticing something recently that felt like “real politics” compared with the soft sell of an election campaign poster at train stations in the Malaysian capital. “One government programme I think is pretty solid is the People’s Income Initiative, or IPR [Inisiatif Pendapatan Rakyat], where small vendors use vending machines to sell food and drinks,” he told This Week in Asia, pointing to what he described as affordable... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3341878/will-young-malaysians-play-key-role-next-election-through-swing-votes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3341878/will-young-malaysians-play-key-role-next-election-through-swing-votes?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Jan 2026 04:30:09 +0000 Lee Hwok-Aun Lee Hwok-Aun Anwar Ibrahim started this year with a spring in his step. On January 5, his “new year mandate” speech announced a raft of economic relief measures for households and small and medium-sized enterprises, alongside a few institutional reforms. Quite saliently, he also announced legislation to limit the Malaysian prime minister’s term in office. While these plans for 2026 have been on the cards for some time, it is important to note that their roll-out follows Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) trouncing in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3341040/malaysias-pm-term-limits-could-backfire-unless-election-cycles-are-set?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3341040/malaysias-pm-term-limits-could-backfire-unless-election-cycles-are-set?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Jan 2026 02:00:32 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Two-time former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad was admitted to hospital on Tuesday to treat a fracture in his right hip after suffering from a fall in his home in Kuala Lumpur, his aide said. The centenarian fell around 7.30am while walking from the balcony to his living room, after which he was rushed to the National Heart Institute. “Tun is expected to be admitted for the next few weeks for treatment and observation,” Mahathir’s long-time press secretary Sufi Yusoff told the media,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3338860/malaysias-ex-pm-mahathir-hospital-after-fall-home-he-was-conscious?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3338860/malaysias-ex-pm-mahathir-hospital-after-fall-home-he-was-conscious?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2026 05:15:43 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim on Monday said his government would seek parliament’s nod to impose a term limit on the country’s prime minister tenure, in a move seen as an attempt to regain the support of his core voter base ahead of the national polls in two years. Anwar’s ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition has been battered politically since he took power in 2022, as supporters censured his administration for failing to live up to its reform pledges by accommodating corruption-tainted former... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3338795/anwar-limit-malaysia-pm-term-reform-push-re-energise-supporters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3338795/anwar-limit-malaysia-pm-term-reform-push-re-energise-supporters?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jan 2026 10:55:39 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof A court’s decision to keep former Malaysian leader Najib Razak behind bars has reopened fault lines between Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ruling coalition and Umno, the country’s once-dominant ruling party. The Kuala Lumpur High Court on Monday rejected Najib’s application to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest, ruling that a purported addendum to a royal clemency order “had no legal effect because it was never deliberated by the Pardons Board”. The decision meant the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337482/why-malaysian-court-ruling-against-najib-dividing-anwars-coalition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337482/why-malaysian-court-ruling-against-najib-dividing-anwars-coalition?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2025 08:46:32 +0000 Arnold Puyok Arnold Puyok Malaysia’s long-anticipated 17th state election in Sabah concluded last month with results that were at once expected and surprising. Heightened calls for greater autonomy and more leadership by local-based parties proved less decisive than expected, with the “Sabah First” slogan belying the fact that the state’s divided politics will continue. With 1.7 million voters choosing from a record 22 parties and 596 candidates, the ballot resembled a democratic marketplace: rich in options but... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3337113/sabahs-election-proves-malaysians-want-results-not-slogans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3337113/sabahs-election-proves-malaysians-want-results-not-slogans?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Dec 2025 02:30:08 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan As Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration swings from one setback to another, his ruling coalition has turned to familiar talking points to regain the support of the country’s ethnic minorities. In the wake of a devastating defeat in the Sabah state election last month, members of Anwar’s ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition have renewed a push for government recognition of school leaving certificates issued by private Chinese high schools. The call, however, has driven a wedge... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337123/anwars-coalition-revives-malaysian-chinese-school-certification-debate-sparking-row?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337123/anwars-coalition-revives-malaysian-chinese-school-certification-debate-sparking-row?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Dec 2025 13:08:06 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof A former political aide of Malaysia’s leader and a Sabah-linked businessman pleaded not guilty to four counts of corruption each on Thursday, in a case analysts say will taint Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s anti-corruption credentials. Anwar’s reform platform has already been tested by disputes over mineral exploration rights in Malaysia’s poorest but most resource-rich state, Sabah. Former political secretary Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin was accused of receiving 176,829.03 ringgit (US$42,930) in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3335163/ex-aide-malaysias-anwar-stand-trial-corruption-charges-linked-businessman?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3335163/ex-aide-malaysias-anwar-stand-trial-corruption-charges-linked-businessman?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Dec 2025 06:11:33 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday vowed not to interfere in corruption investigations into his own political appointees, after a slew of allegations were levelled at close government aides. Last week, Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin, a senior political secretary to the Prime Minister, was implicated in a mining scandal in the state of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo. Shamsul, who resigned from his post just hours after the revelation last Tuesday, is currently being held on remand by the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3334880/malaysias-anwar-vows-no-protection-close-aides-corruption-investigations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3334880/malaysias-anwar-vows-no-protection-close-aides-corruption-investigations?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Dec 2025 09:30:08 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim faces a more complex political landscape ahead after his coalition was routed in Sabah’s polls, as analysts warn he would need to craft a compelling narrative to win over voters ahead of the next general election. Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan coalition won a single seat of the 73 up for grabs in Saturday’s election, from his own Parti Keadilan Rakyat, a stinging rebuke to a government perceived to have failed to fix Sabah’s perennial problems, ranging from... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334791/why-malaysias-anwar-faces-uphill-task-after-sabah-election-trouncing-win-back-voters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334791/why-malaysias-anwar-faces-uphill-task-after-sabah-election-trouncing-win-back-voters?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Dec 2025 11:05:39 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal coalition was dealt a disastrous blow in Malaysia’s Sabah state, where a key partner was completely wiped out in a state election seen as a referendum on his leadership. Saturday’s polls were widely seen as a decisive contest that could set the political trajectory for Anwar’s federal administration with just two years before a national election must be called by early 2028 at the latest. Early on Sunday, the Election Commission... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334597/malaysias-sabah-begins-voting-anwar-faces-test-over-coalitions-performance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3334597/malaysias-sabah-begins-voting-anwar-faces-test-over-coalitions-performance?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Nov 2025 02:18:09 +0000 Ushar Daniele,Joseph Sipalan Ushar Daniele,Joseph Sipalan A gentle breeze stirs the wooden houses of Sarang, a sleepy fishing village on Sabah’s northern coast, its tranquillity seemingly at odds with the mounting troubles facing the resource-rich yet persistently impoverished Malaysian state. For years, Sabahans have endured water shortages, power cuts and some of the lowest wages in the country. Each time the taps run dry or the lights flicker out, local fisherman Johan Toikin is reminded of the central government’s failure to fulfil the commitments... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3333731/malaysias-poorest-state-prepares-poll-shock-pm-anwar-sabahs-right?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3333731/malaysias-poorest-state-prepares-poll-shock-pm-anwar-sabahs-right?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Nov 2025 00:00:20 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Malaysia’s election season kicks into full gear this weekend, with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration forced to juggle national priorities with a push for greater autonomy in Sabah, as “Sabah for Sabahans” sentiment gains momentum in the make-or-break state. The November 29 election in Sabah, one of two states on Malaysian Borneo, is widely seen as a gauge of Anwar’s popularity beyond his strongholds in the peninsula and a potential indicator of how well he could do in his presumed... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3332444/can-malaysias-anwar-survive-sabah-sabahans-pushback-crucial-state-elections?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3332444/can-malaysias-anwar-survive-sabah-sabahans-pushback-crucial-state-elections?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Nov 2025 06:19:32 +0000 Khairy Jamaluddin Khairy Jamaluddin Malaysia’s political system is not a presidential one and is instead based on the Westminster model; but there is an increasing tendency for its parties to want to name a presidential-style “poster boy”. This is partly due to the charismatic personality of the incumbent prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, which makes political contests in Malaysia a battle of personalities rather than policies. But beyond that, it also speaks to the internal jockeying that is taking place within the different... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3327824/malaysias-politics-becoming-ageing-poster-boy-personality-contest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3327824/malaysias-politics-becoming-ageing-poster-boy-personality-contest?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Oct 2025 04:00:15 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau Malaysia may have become more polarised amid intense race rhetoric and systemic problems, but individuals have agency to do their part and private companies have a role to play in ensuring deeper ethnic integration, Transport Minister Anthony Loke has said. Speaking to Malaysians living in Hong Kong at an event organised by the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong and Macau on Wednesday night, Loke noted that although their country was divided along class and education lines with social media... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3325219/malaysian-society-polarised-can-overcome-challenges-anthony-loke?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3325219/malaysian-society-polarised-can-overcome-challenges-anthony-loke?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Sep 2025 11:18:22 +0000 Tricia Yeoh,Francis E. Hutchinson Tricia Yeoh,Francis E. Hutchinson Mahathir Mohamad, the spry two-time prime minister of Malaysia, turned 100 on July 10. Visionary but detail-oriented, charismatic yet divisive, Mahathir has profoundly shaped the country’s politics, economy and society over the past six decades. His entry into electoral politics was a turning point. In 1964, Mahathir contested his first parliamentary seat for Umno in Kedah. Unlike the United Malays National Organisation’s urbane, first-generation leaders, Mahathir came from a rural background... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3318810/malaysias-mahathir-mohamad-100-year-mixed-legacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3318810/malaysias-mahathir-mohamad-100-year-mixed-legacy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Jul 2025 02:30:09 +0000 Hadi Azmi Hadi Azmi Malaysia’s government on Tuesday invited the Bar Council to take part in a review of the country’s judicial appointment process, in a bid to quell public discontent over alleged executive interference that has thrown the judiciary into crisis. The move comes just a day after nearly 1,000 lawyers marched to the Prime Minister’s Office demanding urgent reforms and greater transparency in the selection of judges amid a shortage at the top of the courts and warnings of further institutional... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3318284/malaysia-seek-lawyers-views-anger-over-judge-selection-process-mounts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3318284/malaysia-seek-lawyers-views-anger-over-judge-selection-process-mounts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Jul 2025 08:55:22 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan A cryptic promise from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has become the latest lightning rod for Malaysia’s restless public, whose patience is wearing thin after months of new taxes, political scandals and economic anxiety. Late on Monday, Anwar posted a stylised silhouette and the words Akan Datang (Coming Soon) across his social media accounts, promising a special gesture of “extraordinary” appreciation for all Malaysians. The post, which was met with widespread derision, appeared just hours after... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3318244/whats-anwars-big-surprise-malaysians-dread-more-taxes-or-pardon-najib?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3318244/whats-anwars-big-surprise-malaysians-dread-more-taxes-or-pardon-najib?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Jul 2025 05:26:34 +0000