Malaysia’s election reveals deeply divided electorate

KUALA LUMPUR - The top two

winners of Malaysia’s general election

are parties from opposing ends of the political spectrum, revealing an electorate that is deeply divided between two opposing ideologies, which could pose a challenge to the newly minted Anwar Ibrahim administration.

The fundamentalist Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) won 43 parliamentary seats and the secular Democratic Action Party (DAP) won 40 in the closely fought polls on Nov 19.