Malaysia’s Muhyiddin leads general election, Anwar close behind

As Malaysians head to the polls in a country that has had three prime ministers over the years, opinion polls predict Anwar’s coalition will take the most seats in parliament, but fall short of the majority needed to form a government.

But Muhyiddin’s new coalition, which includes a Malay-centric Conservative Party and an Islamist party that promotes Sharia law, has made huge strides.

The results showed that another main contender – Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s ruling Barisan Nasional coalition – was losing support to Muhyiddin’s group in traditional strongholds.

As of 1630 GMT, the Election Commission had announced results for 123 of the 222 parliamentary seats. Muhyiddin’s Perikatan Nasional won 42 seats, while Anwar’s multiracial coalition won 36.

Perikatan is a junior partner in Ismail’s coalition government. If the result is close, the two can join forces again to stop Anhua.

If Anwar wins the top job, it will end the politician’s remarkable journey from heir apparent to prime minister in 25 years to a prisoner convicted of sodomy to the country’s leader main opposition figure.

Voting closes at 1000 GMT and final results are expected within the next few hours.

Meanwhile, veteran Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad suffered his first electoral defeat in 53 years, potentially marking the end of a seven-year political career. He lost his seat in Muhyiddin’s coalition.

progressive vs conservative

Goh Ai Shan, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said the early results showed a polarization between progressive and conservative forces.

Race and religion are divisive issues in Malaysia, with Muslim Malays the majority and Chinese and Indians the minority.

“In order to form the next government, Anwar must win an absolute majority. Otherwise, even if he wins the most seats, the Malay-Muslim League will unite to form the next government,” Wu said.

At least 70 percent of Malaysia’s 21.1 million eligible voters had voted by 4:00 PT (0800 GMT) local time, the Election Commission said. It did not give final statistics.

The last election had the highest turnout at 82%, but given the large turnout this time around, Saturday’s turnout has surpassed that of the previous election by nearly 2 million voters.

Higher turnout generally favors the opposition.

“hope for change”

Opinion polls show a large number of undecided voters in the days leading up to the poll.

Ismail said earlier on Saturday that his coalition was aiming for a simple majority,

The first issue is the economy and corruption, as several leaders of the Barisan Nasional coalition face corruption charges. Malaysians are also frustrated by political instability, which they see as hampering development efforts.

“I want a change in the government,” Ismat Abdul Rauf, a 64-year-old retiree, told Reuters.

“There are so many issues that need to be addressed – the economy, the wealth of the country, wrongdoing (guilty) people not being prosecuted.”

Barisan Nasional, dominated by the United Malays National Organization, ruled for 60 years from independence until 2018, while Perikatan Nasional, a new bloc, has emerged as a powerful third force with the support of Malay voters.

Amid public anger over the government’s multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal, Anwar was released from prison in 2018 after joining old rivals Mahathir and Muhyiddin in defeating Barisan Nasional for the first time in Malaysia’s history .

The coalition collapsed after 22 months in power as Mahathir promised to hand over the prime ministership to Anwar. Muhyiddin briefly served as prime minister, but his government collapsed last year, paving the way for Ismail’s Barisan Nasional to return to power.