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Asian Angle | Malaysia election 2022: Muhyiddin emerges as top contender to be PM, but is this what the nation hoped for?
- Many Malaysians are surprised how Muhyiddin Yassin ‘sneaked in’ with theocratic Islamist Pas to emerge as the front runner to be PM, says Kalimullah Hassan
- The fear for Malaysia’s minority ethnic Chinese and Indians, and among moderate Muslims and other faiths, is the powerful role PAS is destined to play in a Muhyiddin government
Reading Time:3 minutes
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Most Malaysians knew that the general election on Saturday would lead to a hung parliament, with no single party crossing the 112 seats required for a simple majority.
Yet, based on flawed polls, social media buzz and opposition Pakatan Harapan (PH) president Anwar Ibrahim’s optimistic proclamations that he had “the numbers”, these same Malaysians worked themselves into a frenzy thinking PH would win.
As expected, none of the major coalitions achieved the numbers. What surprised many people was how former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, forced out of office barely a year ago, sneaked in with the theocratic Islamist Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS), winning 73 seats to form the second-largest block after PH (82).
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The grand old dame Barisan Nasional (BN), which ruled Malaysia for 61 years since independence, was thoroughly humiliated – winning only 30 of the 222 seats in parliament. BN also lost control of two states – Perak and Perlis – and with a hung legislature in Pahang state. All these were BN strongholds since 1957.
Now, the various parties are trying to cobble together a coalition, and chances are Muhyiddin will return to the federal capital Putrajaya with the backing of east Malaysian coalitions Gabungan Rakyat Sabah and Gabungan Parti Sarawak.
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