Malaysia election 2022: Coalition government with Zahid’s BN likely; ‘I’m still the PM candidate’, Anwar says
- Pakatan Harapan’s Anwar Ibrahim is seeking to form a simple parliamentary majority with Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s Barisan Nasional
- Both groups have opposing ideologies, but they now appear to be receptive towards working together to stop Muhyiddin Yassin from becoming PM
Anwar, the reformist long-time opposition leader, on Monday morning held talks with leaders from Barisan Nasional (BN), the once-powerful bloc that suffered major setbacks in the latest vote.
Anwar’s multiracial Pakatan Harapan (PH) and BN – the bloc anchored by the ethnonationalist United Malays National Organisation (Umno) – are diametrically opposed in ideology, but they now appear to be receptive towards working together to stop Muhyiddin from becoming prime minister.
Muhyiddin, a canny political operator who has previously been a member of both BN and PH, leads the Perikatan Nasional (PN) alliance that stunned the country by winning 73 of the 220 seats contested in the election.
The coalition comprises Muhyiddin’s own Bersatu party – created to rival Umno – and the hardline Islamist PAS. PN made major gains in the north of Peninsular Malaysia, where its message of being the bloc grounded in Islamic teachings, with technocratic credentials, resonated with heartland Malays jaded by constant bickering between PH and BN – until now the main political forces in the country.
Here’s the latest on Malaysia’s post-election political turmoil.
