Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition has suffered a significant setback during a state election in Johor, losing ground to its main federal coalition partner, with whom it is set for a possible showdown at the next general election.
Barisan Nasional (BN), the incumbent coalition in Johor, an economically important state at the tip of peninsular Malaysia, secured a commanding victory in Saturday’s polls, winning 48 of 56 state assembly seats, up from 40 at the last election in 2022. Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition won the remaining eight seats, down from 12 previously.
While the poor result in Johor has no direct bearing on Anwar’s parliamentary majority at the federal level, it could widen the rift between PH and BN ahead of the next general election, which must be held by 2028 but could be called earlier.
The two coalitions joined forces to form a government after a close general election in 2022, but were also unlikely partners. Their coalition brought together two parties – Anwar’s People’s Justice Party (PKR) and the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the main component of BN – that had been fierce rivals for years.
As Asif Ullah Khan wrote in these pages last week, while the two parties currently need each other to remain in power in Putrajaya, “they are simultaneously competing to become the dominant force of tomorrow.”
