Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim faces a daunting task in uniting an increasingly polarized nation and strengthening his nascent unity government. analysts say.
“Anwar survived the election. There will still be a constant momentum to pressure UMNO but he has passed this particular hurdle. He hasn’t jumped very high over it but at least he passed through,” said Bridget Welsh, a Southeast Asia expert with the University of Nottingham in Malaysia.
Many Malays, who account for two-thirds of Malaysia’s 33 million people, view Anwar as too liberal. They fear their Islamic identity and economic privileges under a decades-old affirmative action program could be chipped away. But the opposition framed its gains as a protest vote against Anwar’s unity government. Muhyiddin said it was a clear sign that UMNO has become irrelevant to the Malays. He said the people wanted change and that Anwar and his deputy, UMNO leader Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, should resign.
UMNO’s poor performance in Saturday’s polls will be tricky for Anwar. There are already renewed calls in UMNO for Zahid to step down, but Zahid said in a statement that the mandate won on Saturday will be the basis for the allies in the unity government to work harder to maintain their rule until the 2027 general elections.
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