Malaysia is in the grip of a political impasse after a general election on November 19 produced a hung parliament with no clear winning party or coalition. More than four days since polling day, prime ministerial contenders Muhyiddin Yassin and Anwar Ibrahim have struggled to substantiate their conflicting claims of majority support.
Opposition leader Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) won 81 seats at the polls, putting it ahead of Muhyiddin’s conservative Perikatan Nasional (PN) bloc’s 73 seats. The once-dominant Barisan Nasional (BN) delivered its worst-ever electoral performance, winning just 30 seats, but its lawmakers have now found themselves in the position of kingmakers.
What is clear is that an election called months ahead of schedule with the intent to stabilize the political landscape has done the opposite, putting the stability of the next government in question. The ringgit currency notably fell against the dollar and the Kuala Lumpur stock market weakened with the prospect of yet another wobbly government.
Coalition and party leaders have since Tuesday (November 22) come and gone from the Istana Negara, or national palace, for audiences with Malaysia’s constitutional monarch. Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah reportedly sought to broker a unity government with PH and PN, a request Muhyiddin claims he rebuffed because his coalition has always explicitly ruled out such cooperation.
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Nile Bowie is a journalist and correspondent with the Asia Times covering current affairs in Singapore and Malaysia. He can be reached at nilebowie@gmail.com.
