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Malaysia election: Why the results spell trouble for Pakatan Harapan and Umno
3 political blocs have emerged from GE15. Race and religion remain key to Malaysian politics and in the reshaping of political alignments.
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Pakatan Harapan supporters waving the coalition's flag at a post-election event in Subang, Malaysia, on Nov 20.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
Joseph Chinyong Liow and Mohamed Nawab
The outcome of Malaysia’s 15th general election has been remarkable at many levels. For the first time since independence, no coalition managed to secure a conclusive victory which would allow it to form a government outright. The hung Parliament has triggered a period of intense horse-trading among the main contenders, which continues at the point of writing and will likely ensue over the course of a very unstable next five years.
The election was an absolute disaster for the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and especially its key component Umno, for which the by-election victories in Johor in 2022 and Melaka in 2021 proved to be little more than false dawns.
