Anwar’s PH coalition quits Melaka government over strains with ally BN
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All of PH’s five state assembly members are withdrawing their backing for the BN-led Melaka government.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
- Pakatan Harapan (PH) has quit the Malacca state government led by Barisan Nasional (BN) due to disagreements over a Bill creating new appointed assembly seats.
- PH’s five state assembly members withdrew support, with four resigning from the state administration, but BN still holds a supermajority in the Malacca assembly.
- PH will become the state opposition from July 15 and will not cooperate with BN in the next Malacca state election due by early 2027.
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MELAKA – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) has quit the Malacca state government that is led by federal ally Barisan Nasional (BN) following disagreement over a Bill, further straining relations after battling each other in the Johor elections.
All of PH’s five state assembly members are withdrawing their backing for the BN-led Melaka government, and four of them will resign from their positions in the state administration, local party officials said.
This comes after PH failed to stop a state Bill designed to create new vacancies for unelected, appointed assembly members.
The withdrawal doesn’t impact the current state government, as BN holds 21 of the 28 seats in the state assembly, giving it a supermajority regardless of PH’s backing.
PH leader Khoo Poay Tiong – who heads the local chapter for PH component Democratic Action Party (DAP) – indicated in a briefing that his party will not collaborate with BN in the upcoming Malacca state election due in early 2027.
“I think it’s clear,” Khoo told reporters in a briefing in Melaka, when asked about possible cooperation in 2026’s election.
He said PH would shift to become the state opposition from July 15.
Anwar had later asked Melaka PH to postpone its decision of quitting the state government and instead negotiate with the state leadership, according to a report by The Edge.
BN scored a resounding victory in the Johor elections at PH’s expense, sweeping 48 of the 56 assembly seats in July 11’s vote.
The parties are also set to battle in the Negeri Sembilan local election on Aug 1, where PH representatives are the incumbents.
BN chief Ahmad Zahid Hamidi serves as deputy prime minister in Anwar’s Cabinet.
The Malacca assembly’s term expires by February.
The Chinese-dominated DAP is also set to weigh its role in Anwar’s government during a special meeting in August, triggered by concerns over declining support from ethnic Chinesefor the coalition and Anwar. BLOOMBERG
