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(Bloomberg) — Malaysia\u2019s ruling coalition scored a landslide victory in a by-election on Saturday, with party leaders hailing it as a sign of long-term political stability and public acceptance of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim\u2019s unity government.<\/p>\n
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Barisan Nasional, a key ally of Anwar, won 79% of the votes in a straight fight against the Perikatan Nasional opposition pact in Mahkota, a constituency in the southern state of Johor, according to the Election Commission. Its winning margin jumped four-fold compared to the last provincial vote, helped by a post-general-election tie-up with Anwar\u2019s Pakatan Harapan alliance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis shows that supporters of the country\u2019s main parties are able to accept the cooperation in the unity government,\u201d Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, secretary-general of BN lynchpin the United Malays National Organisation, wrote on Facebook late Saturday. The former long-time rivals had joined forces in November 2022 to back Anwar after the general election resulted in a hung parliament.<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s result was the ruling pact\u2019s second straight victory in provincial polls, and reaffirms Anwar\u2019s grip on power after the country saw a revolving door of leaders between 2018 to 2022. It comes on the back of a strengthening currency and economy, an opposition in disarray, and as Malaysia unveiled plans to attract more investment into Johor state, which borders Singapore. The government is counting on the wins to help convince foreign investors that Anwar\u2019s administration is in it for the long haul.<\/p>\n
The victory in Mahkota doesn\u2019t directly impact parliament\u2019s composition \u2014 where Anwar enjoys a supermajority \u2014 but may embolden the prime minister to undertake politically sensitive reforms that could strengthen the country\u2019s finances, including ending blanket petrol subsidies. Anwar, who doubles as finance minister, is set to unveil the government\u2019s spending plan for 2025 on Oct. 18 with a view to reducing the fiscal deficit to 3% of gross domestic product in the medium term, from 5% last year.<\/p>\n
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