Voters in Malaysia’s biggest state are set to reject opposition alliance in elections

|HT|

Voters in Malaysia’s biggest state are set to reject the opposition alliance in elections on Saturday, increasing pressure on Anwar Ibrahim to step aside as de facto leader and forcing a rethink in strategy ahead of a national vote that may be called as soon as next year. The polls in Sarawak in Borneo island is expected to present another major defeat for Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan. That’s a given because the local parties that have controlled the state since independence are aligned with the ruling United Malays National Organization.

The opposition has already been thrashed last month in a state election in peninsular Malaysia thanks to an UMNO campaign led by disgraced former premier Najib Razak who focused on reviving a pandemic-battered economy. Najib criticized the opposition for harping on his corruption trials linked to troubled state fund 1MDB, although an appeals court upheld a guilty verdict soon after the polls.

UMNO won’t contest in the Sarawak polls, preferring to back local parties in the resource-rich state. Their certain victory will help it consolidate its power after the pro-Malay party returned to the top seat of government four months ago and could bring forward the next general election that must be held by 2023.

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