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Nearly one million Malaysians in Sabah will elect their state government today, Saturday (26/9/2020), days after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim claimed the post of prime minister. While a victory was critical for Muhyiddin to counter Anwar’s claims and be able to speed up elections, the nature of the victory was just as key.(Also read: Claiming to Receive Majority Support in Parliament, Anwar Ready to Overthrow Muhyiddin)
“Muhyiddin wants to see a tremendous victory, with his party Bersatu winning most of the seats instead of its ally United Malays National Organization (UMNO),” said Oh Ei Sun, a researcher at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, a big win for UMNO will give it room to push for a bigger role in the snap elections, at the expense of the prime minister and his party.
UMNO was the key to Muhyiddin’s rise to power last February, which took place without a general election. UMNO is the biggest ruling party in terms of seats in parliament, but it must do so with a smaller role in the cabinet as it slipped from power in the 2018 elections. Tensions were evident when the party said it only supported the government on an individual level and not as a coalition. Now, some of his lawmakers may have supported Anwar.(Also read: Anwar Ibrahim’s Support to Become Prime Minister of Malaysia is Strengthening)
“If the United Party wins more seats on Saturday, Muhyiddin will be in a strong position to claim that UMNO is undermined while Muhyiddin is the real vote drawer,” said political analyst Wong Chin Huat.
“He can dissolve the parliament with the United Party nominating perhaps the same number of seats as UMNO, thus extending his term of office,” he added.
Sabah, along with neighboring Sarawak, previously served as kings as voters there tried to align local government with the ruling federal government. Combined, they have 66 of the 222 parliamentary seats in total.
Located more than a thousand kilometers from the capital, across the South China Sea, Sabah is now the center of political warfare.
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