In Kuala Lumpur, there is a nascent sense of recovery from the last three years of political turmoil.
The Anwar administration, essentially the second Pakatan Harapan government, with 148 seats out of 222 in parliament, has a good chance of going full term.
PN, led by Mr Muhyiddin Yassin, has been promoting an atmosphere of conflict, contingency and crisis around the government, leveraging the latter’s early fumbling and bad luck in racial and inter-religious relations, and even diplomacy.One potential gamechanger is the upcoming six state elections — spanning PN-controlled Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah, and PH-controlled Selangor, Penang and Negeri Sembilan — taking place by August 2023.
The other possible gamechanger would be economic recession and rapidly rising costs of living. If undermined by other governance failures, PH’s coalition partners may jump ship, in fear of losing the next election and enticed by PN and its lucrative offers.First, Mr Anwar is focused on cultivating the Malay Muslim ground, which is at the heart of his legitimacy as PM, although this will take time.
Nevertheless, he has quietly reassigned a few senior civil servants. He has expressed support for an independent body to investigate alleged misconduct involving enforcement agencies and directed the attorney-general to review the proposal. Mr Anwar has also handled Umno carefully, as the party has been a key pillar of Malay public life for more than 60 years.
In contrast, some PAS leaders hold the view that secular institutions are subordinate to Islamic scholars.He reportedly briefs GPS chief and Sarawak Premier Abang Jo on relevant policy decisions regularly and has appointed GPS’ Fadillah Yusof as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Plantation and Commodities.While PH’s supporters may hope for faster inclusive reforms and better governance, they are circumspect after the last three years of conservative Malay-dominant administrations.
For GE15, Mr Anwar had energetically campaigned across the country, despite others from PH reportedly abandoning hopes of winning. He has eliminated party “traitors” and imposed a more unified party and coalition under his command for the first time in more than a decade.
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