Malaysia’s Anwar seeks unity in his coalition ahead of state elections with recent Eid charm offensive

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has been busy shaking hands and kissing babies across the nation, using the Eid season to meet citizens in a cross-country charm offensive rolled out just months before state elections.

Bucking the tradition of hosting one grand Eid “open house” at the prime minister’s official residence, the 76-year-old leader instead chose to take the party to the masses, with events spread across six states in the Malaysian peninsula over three weekends.

A lot of attention, however, will be paid to the public reception of his events in three opposition-held states in the north – Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu – which are viewed as an indicator of his popularity, especially among the majority ethnic Malays.

Even before the events, the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) had accused the prime minister of campaigning ahead of state polls expected in the third quarter of this year, under the pretext of celebrating Eid with the public.

According to local media, his first event in Kedah on April 29 attracted at least 10,000 people and was attended by the state’s sultan. Next weekend he will have back-to-back events in Kelantan and neighbouring Terengganu.

“I think it has been clear from the start of his administration that the prime minister has to remain in campaign mode for the coming state polls,” said Adib Zalkapli, a Malaysia director with political risk consultancy BowerGroupAsia (BGA). “The biggest challenge is campaigning against a very formidable Malay-Muslim-dominated opposition coalition.”

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Anwar became prime minister in November after a deeply divided national election that saw the rise of a new conservative Malay political powerhouse in PN, driven by a “green wave” – referencing the colour of component party PAS. The Islamist group emerged as the largest single party in parliament, claiming 49 of 222 seats.

While PN finished with 74 seats in total, short of the 82 won by Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, it was a significant outcome as it captured broad support among Malays, who make up more than 60 per cent of Malaysia’s 32-million population.

PH has historically struggled to win Malay support, due in part to distrust of component party DAP which is dominated by the minority ethnic-Chinese community.

Anwar is also grappling with strained relations between members of his unity government, which he cobbled together from long-time rivals at the request of the king.

In addition to the PH alliance, the government also includes Malay nationalist and former ruling party Umno and the GPS coalition, which governs the state of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo. Relations between PH – particularly DAP – and their two new partners have historically been strained at best.

Their newly forged partnership was rocked last week when Umno and DAP leaders became embroiled in a media row over the former’s push to secure a royal pardon for disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak, who is serving a 12-year jail sentence for corruption involving a former unit of scandal-tainted state fund 1MDB.

“It’s a case of growing pains. Both parties have been rivals for years, so it’s understandably difficult for everyone to immediately accept each other,” said a government source, who asked not to be named.

However, the source said lines of communications were open between the leaders of all member parties under the unity government, especially since they hold regular weekly cabinet meetings.

Adding to Anwar’s problems are rumours that up to 15 of Umno’s 26 MPs are plotting a possible defection to PN, to undermine him and the leadership of Umno president and Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is facing a corruption trial.

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According to local news reports, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said in March that plans were in the works to topple Anwar’s administration “not only through elections but also in parliament”.

A well-placed Umno source said the prospective turncoats would wait for the state poll results before making a decision.

“They need to also consider what it would ultimately mean for the unity government. Even if they leave, Anwar still has Sabah and Sarawak,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

“If you ask the guys in Sabah and Sarawak who they would rather work with, they’d pick Umno over DAP. As long as Umno is in the mix, it’s unlikely that the unity government will collapse.”

The six state elections may not have a direct impact on the make-up of Anwar’s government, but BGA’s Adib said the results would be an important gauge of whether to stay the course or change tack.

“The outcome of the state elections will shape the policy direction of the unity government. They need to appear successful at the state elections,” he said. “And success for the unity government is retaining the three state governments and the Malay-Muslim seats currently held by Umno and PH parties.”