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Hung Parliament: New political crisis in Malaysia, hung parliament in general elections

Kuala Lumpur. A fresh political crisis erupted in Malaysia on Sunday as a closely contested general election resulted in a hung parliament with no one getting a clear majority. Surprisingly, there has been an increase in support for the Islamic party. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s reformist coalition won the maximum 83 seats in parliament’s 220 seats, but fell short of the majority mark. After this, the ‘National Alliance’ led by former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yasin got 73 seats.

The coalition led by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) fared poorly, winning only 30 seats. This coalition ruled Malaysia from independence from Britain until 2018. Two-time former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, 97, who is leading a separate Malay movement, was among those who lost the election.

Rural Malays, two-thirds of Malaysia’s 33 million population, fear they could lose their rights if they become more numerous. These include large numbers of minority ethnic Chinese and Indian people. Simultaneously, UMNO’s corruption benefited Muhyiddin’s coalition. Its ally the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party or PAS has emerged as the key winner. The results of this election could start a round of horse-trading as Muhyiddin and Anwar tussle to form the government.

He will need the support of two coalitions on the island of Borneo, which have a combined 28 seats. Anwar told a news conference that he had obtained written support from MPs to secure a majority. He said that it will be handed over to the king of the country who will take the final decision. “We have secured majority…Majority means more than 111 seats,” he said.

Meanwhile, Muhyiddin said he had received a letter from the palace indicating that their alliance could be given priority in forming a government. He said that he is confident of forming a stable government. UMNO leader Ahmed Zahid Hamidi said in a statement that his coalition had accepted the results.

He said that the National Front wanted to set aside differences to form a stable government. Voting in two federal seats was postponed due to the death of a candidate and bad weather. The Barisan National coalition has held power in the country since independence from Britain in 1957, but due to corruption, it had to face defeat in the 2018 elections to Anwar’s coalition PH.

This election saw once-powerful UMNO leaders jailed for corruption and raised hopes of change in Malaysia, but defections led to the fall of the PH government in early 2020 and UMNO returned to power.

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