Malaysia state polls: DAP’s Anthony Loke says it’s a battle for stability, as campaigning hits final stretch

Poor results for PM Anwar Ibrahim’s administration will cause political instability, but it won’t topple the federal government, Loke says

‘Malays do not lose anything in terms of political power’ by voting for Anwar’s unity government, the DAP chief tells This Week in Asia

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A man stands outside a nomination centre in Gombak, Selangor, last month on state election nomination day. Some 9.7 million Malaysian voters will cast their ballots in 245 constituencies in Saturday’s state polls. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 9:30am, 9 Aug 2023

When the chief of Malaysia’s Democratic Action Party (DAP) addressed a campaign stop in the Malay-majority seat of Batang Kali in Selangor on Monday, his message was clear – a vote for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government in no way diminishes the political power of the country’s largest ethnic group.

Speaking before a small crowd of Malay armed-forces veterans and locals, Anthony Loke – the secretary general of the Chinese-led DAP – said it would be unreasonable for the six non-Malay ministers in Anwar’s 28-member cabinet to have an outsize say on public policy.

“There are five Chinese ministers and one Indian minister, and cabinet decisions are made on consensus. How does that diminish the political power of the Malays?” Loke said. “The prime minister is Malay, a deputy prime minister is Malay, the home minister is Malay … there is no way that Malay political power will be eroded.”

The opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) alliance has pushed Malay political power as a key campaign issue ahead of Saturday’s polls in six states, which come nine months after a November general election where the Islamist PAS’ “green wave” swept up heartland Malay votes.

More than 9.7 million people are registered to vote in 245 constituencies this weekend in the PN-held states of Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu in the north of the Malaysian peninsula, as well as in the pro-federal government states of Negeri Sembilan and the two richest states in the country, Selangor and Penang.

The outcome of the state polls will have little bearing on federal power, but PN leaders have positioned it as a referendum on Anwar’s administration and its alleged failure to address persistent cost-of-living issues in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Six Malaysian states head to the polls on Saturday. Tap to enlarge. Graphic: SCMP

Loke, who is transport minister, said it was “misleading” for the opposition to claim that the state polls were a referendum on the federal government when they were in fact a limited measure of the performance of the six state governments over the last five years.

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