By-election win allows Anwar govt to refocus on youth and Malays

Alliance has to break opposition’s hold on key vote banks to win next national polls

- Shannon Teoh

Malaysia's ruling coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) may have halted its rival Perikatan Nasional's (PN) momentum by winning the recent Kuala Kubu Baharu (KKB) by-election, but it still needs to break the opposition's hold on key vote banks to ensure triumph at the next national polls.

PN, which made persistent gains in a string of polls across 2023, received only 41 per cent of the vote at the May 11 by-election.

Nonetheless, the voter statistics showed it cemented its stranglehold on two growing demographics, the young and the Malay majority, which are set to pay dividends in the future.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's "unity" government will thus need to use the breathing space it has earned to refocus on delivering on key pledges and policies needed to loosen the opposition's grip on these voters.

"The battleground is among the middle ground, especially the Malay middle ground which can be swayed by good leadership, good policies and good implementation," said Selangor Democratic Action Party treasurer Ong Kian Ming. His party's candidate, Ms Pang Sock Tao, won the polls last weekend for a seat in the Selangor state legislative assembly.

Ms Pang, who flew the flag for Datuk Seri Anwar's PH, took a higher vote share of 57 per cent, compared with the coalition's 54 per cent garnered in the 2023 state polls.