Asian Angle | Malaysia’s Anwar has to navigate dangerous undercurrents ahead of key state elections
- PM Anwar has his work cut out to improve his coalition’s Malay vote share in the coming state polls, with Selangor and Negeri Sembilan marked as key battlegrounds
- Deputy PM Zahid and jailed ex-leader Najib are among other headaches for Anwar, whose support may erode if Umno becomes an electoral liability during the elections
Yet, dangerous undercurrents lurk below the calm waters. In a few months, Malaysia will head to a set of state-level elections. Six states are up for grabs – three held by Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and three by the Islamic party, Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), which is part of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) opposition coalition. The states concerned – Kedah, Terengganu, Kelantan, Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan – are a cross-section of Malaysia’s diversity. In other words, the results will be representative of what the country thinks – at least on the peninsula.
With PH’s Malay vote share during last year’s polls estimated to be less than 15 per cent, it will be impossible for Anwar to secure any of the northern states, so he will have to keep an eye on his own strongholds, especially Selangor.
