Eleventh-hour pleas in stiff battle ahead of Malaysia’s state polls

KUALA LUMPUR - Both sides of Malaysia’s deeply polarised political divide made last-ditch attempts on Friday to woo the nearly 10 million voters who will decide six of the federation’s 13 state governments on Saturday.

Late-night grand-finale rallies were held across the six states ahead of the ballot, which will involve half of Malaysia’s electorate in a contest that is being widely viewed as a referendum on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government.

But various leaders also took to televised and online broadcasts to make final pleas to voters faced with a choice between the Malay-Muslim nationalist opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) led by former premier Muhyiddin Yassin, and Datuk Seri Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH), which has teamed up with former rival Barisan Nasional (BN).

“We must set aside emotions and ego when choosing the state’s leaders. Do not be influenced by hate. Don’t let an election make us assume the worst about our fellow men,” caretaker Selangor Chief Minister Amirudin Shari said in his Friday morning address, in which he promised to declare Monday a public holiday if the unity government succeeds in fending off PN’s assault on Malaysia’s richest state.

PH is

cooperating with the Umno-led BN

for the first time after decades of bitter enmity, and war-room analyses across the divide have found graft-tainted Deputy Premier Zahid Hamidi’s leadership of the once-dominant Umno a liability for the ruling alliance.

PN smells blood and believes it can

storm PH stronghold Selangor

, ending the 15-year rule by Mr Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat, while also making deep inroads into the other two PH-held states of Penang and Negeri Sembilan.

While the Premier has talked up the

possibility of wresting Kedah

from PN’s largest member, Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), the PN-held, Malay-dominated eastern states of Kelantan and Terengganu appear out of his reach.

Major night-time rallies were held by the PH-BN alliance in Penang and Selangor.

In Penang, Mr Lim Guan Eng, chairman of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) – the largest outfit in PH – told about 3,000 attendees that PN leaders were economically incompetent, pointing to poor governance in Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah.

“Penang voters want an efficient, accountable government, which will ensure the well-being of its people,” he said to cheers from the crowd.

But it was in Kedah that the alliance’s top names like Mr Anwar and Datuk Seri Zahid gathered for a final push.

Meanwhile, PAS’ caretaker Kedah Chief Minister Sanusi Md Nor proved to be the

most popular figure

during the two-week campaign, and organised his own finale without the need for PN’s top national leadership to back him.

He has courted controversy in recent weeks, using colourful language during the campaign, and was hauled to court for allegedly insulting the Sultan of Selangor.

Despite this, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan announced in a live online statement on Friday that Sanusi, as well as his Terengganu counterpart Samsuri Mokhtar, would be proposed to lead these states for another term if given the mandate by the electorate.

The PN grand finale took place before thousands of supporters in Selangor, in the seat contested by its state chief Azmin Ali, who is set to return as Menteri Besar if the coalition manages to topple PH.

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Muhyiddin and PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man were in attendance as supporters chanted “referendum” and “new Selangor” at the rally.

While Datuk Seri Amirudin also headlined a rival rally a few kilometres away, the Selangor Menteri Besar chose to end the night by hosting a live session on TikTok, seeking to capture an online audience after a campaign where physical attendance at events has largely been poor.