PM Anwar’s coalition partners pledge to finish term, despite state polls feud: Selangor chief minister

PM Anwar’s coalition partners pledge to finish term, despite state polls feud: Selangor chief minister Amirudin Shari, a senior leader in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's party, also dismissed concerns that upcoming state elections in Johor and Negeri Sembilan will disrupt the current administration. KUALA LUMPUR: Major partners within Malaysia’s unity government have pledged their continued support until the end of the term, regardless of the outcomes in the upcoming state elections, according to a senior figure in its largest coalition, Pakatan Harapan (PH). Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice president Amirudin Shari told CNA on Jun 24 that leaders from the major partners within the unity government had met prior to the upcoming polls, which will see voters in Johor and Negeri Sembilan head to the ballot boxes on Jul 11 and Aug 1 respectively. PKR is Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s party and one of the main components of PH. Amirudin, who is also Selangor state’s chief minister, said the meeting included top leaders from PH, Barisan Nasional (BN), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS). “They have (an) agreement to continue the federal government (that would) not (be) impacted by the result of the state elections,” he said. He noted that while there is no formal written agreement between the coalition partners, they had reached a consensus based on a verbal commitment. The two polls will see PH compete against BN, even though they are partners in government. Ties between the two coalitions were strained recently when 14 United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) assemblypeople in Negeri Sembilan withdrew their support in April for Chief Minister Aminuddin Harun over his handling of a crisis involving the state’s monarchy. UMNO is a key component party within the BN coalition. BN then announced on May 16 that it would contest the Johor state election solo, prompting sharp criticism from PH leaders. The dissolution of the Johor state assembly was subsequently announced on Jun 1. Shortly after, on Jun 5, the PH-led Negeri Sembilan government announced the dissolution of its own state assembly. PH and BN said they would go solo in both state polls. When asked if these elections could trigger further instability at the federal level, Amirudin said that even if BN were to withdraw from the unity government, the administration would still retain a simple majority to complete its term. He added that Anwar had said that partners such as GPS and GRS had given their guarantee that they would support the government until the end of the term. Malaysia’s 16th general election must be held by February 2028. “With the support of GRS and GPS, the government is there. It still has a simple majority,” said Amirudin. “The guarantee gives the prime minister confidence to continue until the end of his term,” he added. A minimum of 112 seats is needed to form a simple majority in Malaysia's 222-seat parliament. Currently, the Dewan Rakyat - the lower house of the Malaysian Parliament - has 220 active Members of Parliament (MPs) out of its total of 222 seats. Two seats are currently vacant following the resignations of the MPs for Pandan and Setiawangsa, Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad in May. Of the 220 active seats, PH has 77 seats, Barisan Nasional has 30 seats, GPS has 23 seats, while GRS has eight seats. Supported by other parliamentarians including smaller parties and independents, the unity government now commands a majority of 145 MPs, according to the latest seating plan. There are 75 parliamentarians on the opposition bench. Amirudin told CNA that he believed that all coalitions within the unity government had learned from the political volatility experienced between 2018 and 2022 - a period characterised by the collapse of successive administrations and the appointment of five prime ministers. Since the 15th General Election in November 2022, Malaysia has experienced a period of relative political stability, said Amirudin. “PH plus BN plus GRS and GPS, so far it is big, and it's considerably stable in terms of national politics,” he said. Anwar was sworn in as Malaysia’s 10th prime minister on Nov 24, 2022, after the 15th GE failed to produce a clear winner and resulted in a hung parliament for the first time in Malaysia’s history. Amirudin said Anwar was not planning on calling for a general election, as his primary focus remained on stabilising an economy currently under pressure from geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. “He is not keen for the election to happen now,” he said. He added that BN would likely have learnt their lesson from calling for a snap general election four years ago following their victories in the Johor and Melaka state elections that were held earlier that year. “Barisan Nasional has to learn also. They pushed for early elections in 2022. Before that, they pulled support for Muhyiddin (Yassin) as prime minister. They only won 30 seats in the general election. So everybody has to learn from history,” he said. BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said on Jun 27 that BN would ensure full cooperation between the state administration and Putrajaya in order to strengthen the existing unity government. Amirudin said that coalition governments were the new political reality in Malaysia, and that Malaysia could learn from Germany which has long relied on multi-party power-sharing agreements to govern. “It must be a coalition of coalitions,” he said.