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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is facing a hung parliament for the first time in its history, with the nation’s king on Sunday calling for political leaders to propose a coalition government after a tightly contested general election failed to produce a clear winner.
Three main coalitions competed in Malaysia’s 15th general election on Saturday, which saw around 14.7 million Malaysians, almost 74 percent of the 21 million eligible voters, casting their votes.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s reformist alliance, Pakatan Harapan, topped the race with 82 out of 222 parliamentary seats, but fell far short of the 112 needed for a majority. The Malay-centric Perikatan Nasional, led by former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, had an unexpectedly strong showing with 73 seats.
The Barisan Nasional alliance led by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s long-ruling UMNO party was the biggest loser, winning only 30 seats in its worst-ever election performance as Muhyiddin’s alliance pulled support from the incumbent government’s traditional strongholds.
In a statement on Sunday, the palace said that “leaders of political parties and coalitions that have a large number of seats” must propose a new government and name a candidate for prime minister by Monday afternoon.
“His Majesty advises the people and leaders of political parties to respect the democratic process, and accept the results of the GE15 with a calm and open mind in order to maintain the integrity of the country,” the statement said.
Malaysian voters cast their ballots in the hope of ending a spate of political uncertainty in the country, which has seen three prime ministers since the previous election in 2018, amid uncertainties in the economy and fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many of Malaysia’s political old guard were wiped out in the election battle. These included former PM Mahathir Mohamad, who suffered his first election defeat in 53 years in a blow that signaled an end to his political influence and career.
The two biggest winners of Saturday’s elections were competing on Sunday to forge alliances needed to form a simple majority government, with both Anwar and Muhyiddin announcing that they have enough seats to do so.
James Chin, professor of Asian studies at the University of Tasmania, said he is expecting Perikatan Nasional to win the race and Muhyiddin to become Malaysia’s premier for the second time.
“It’s the same government coming back, so there won’t be any difference,” Chin told Arab News.
Perikatan Nasional’s ally, the Pan Malaysian Islamic Party, or PAS, was the biggest winner with a haul of 49 Parliamentary seats, securing more than double what it won in the 2018 elections.
The PAS is now the single largest party, with its rise stoking fears of identity politics in multi-ethnic Malaysia, where minorities make up 40 percent of the 32 million population.
Chin said that this year’s elections have resulted in “negative” sentiments among non-Malays, who largely feared that there will be “less space for non-Muslims” in the country.
A government led by Perikatan Nasional may result in a “stronger Malay-Muslim hegemony in the government bench,” Aizat Shamsuddin, founder of Initiate.My, a Kuala Lumpur-based organization promoting tolerance, told Arab News.
Saturday’s election outcome was not surprising for some voters, such as Kuala Lumpur-based hospitality worker Marzianie Basaludin, who told Arab News she was seeking “something new” in the country’s leadership.
“I just do not want Barisan Nasional to be the government again,” she said.