The door is fast closing on Malaysia’s reform experiment after nearly a decade of false starts and political intrigue, with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ruling coalition facing the real possibility of being booted out of office as the country’s ethnic majority seeks the return of strong Malay leadership.
Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) suffered bruising losses in three state elections since last November, most significantly losing control of Negeri Sembilan on Saturday after nearly eight years in power.
PH’s defeat in Negeri Sembilan followed an earlier landslide win by federal partner but electoral rival Umno in the Johor state poll in July.
The common thread between the two state contests in the peninsula was a hard tilt towards Malay dominance in the political structure.
“The demand for a Malay nationalist coalition has never been bigger, especially after having PH and DAP in power,” said Syaza Farhana Mohamad Shukri, a political-science associate professor at the International Islamic University Malaysia.
The Democratic Action Party (DAP) is the largest party in Anwar’s ruling coalition.