Malaysia govt faces test as local elections loom

Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's unity government is facing its first crucial test as the dissolution of six state assemblies paves the way for state elections, possibly as early as August.

Legislative assemblies of Kedah, Penang and Terengganu states were officially dissolved on Wednesday, while Kelantan and Selangor's state assemblies were dissolved on June 22 and June 23, respectively. Negeri Sembilan will dissolve its state assembly on Saturday.

The impending state elections could be held just nine months after a general election that resulted in a hung parliament. This pushed Anwar's Pakatan Harapan, or PH, party, which won the most votes, to build a coalition government with its erstwhile rival, the United Malays National Organization, or UMNO.

Wong Chin Huat, political scientist at Sunway University in Kuala Lumpur, said the upcoming elections will act as "a referendum on the political stability" of the unity government.

These will be the first midterm elections to involve about 45 percent of Malaysia's 21.1 million electorate, Wong said.

Malaysians will vote based not only on their assessment of the candidates for local elections, but also on what the federal government and the opposition offer, he said.

Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah are strongholds of the opposition Perikatan Nasional, or PN.

Former prime minister and PN leader Muhyiddin Yassin said his party is ready to capture seats in the other three election states. PH leads Negeri Sembilan, Penang and Selangor.

Wong said PN, which counts the Malaysian Islamic Party as an ally, will "continue to play up ethno-religious issues" to appeal to Malay Muslim voters. Malays are in majority in the ethnically diverse country. He said PH has a more "pluralist and liberal" voter base.

Hafidzi Razali, associate director for Malaysia at Bower Group Asia headquartered in Virginia, said the upcoming elections will serve as the unity government's "litmus test among the Malay voter base".

The results of the election will determine if the government's narrative of political stability resonates with voters in urban and semi-urban areas, he said.

Malaysian state elections are usually conducted along with the general elections. But all of Malaysia's 13 states can independently dissolve their assemblies.

This is why during the November general elections, only Pahang, Perak and Perlis dissolved their state assemblies and held elections. Johor, Melaka, Sabah and Sarawak held their state elections before the general elections.

Deciding factors

Chin Yew Sin, a Malaysian businessman and political analyst, said corruption and cost of living issues, combined with concerns related to the voters' ethnicity and religion, will be the deciding factors in the August state elections.

In a multiethnic country such as Malaysia, ethnicity and religious issues "will always be played up during any election", Chin said.

He said voters living in urban areas are more concerned with corruption and human rights issues, while religion and cost of living issues top the concerns of rural voters.

Yeah Kim Leng, director of the Economic Studies Program for the Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia at Sunway University, said the outcome of state elections will be viewed as a "gauge of the public acceptance of the unity government" but will not be decisive on its future.