Malaysia in Turmoil, PM Anwar Ibrahim's Government Threatened with 'Split'

Political dynamics in Malaysia are heating up once again. The Democratic Action Party (DAP), the largest party in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ruling coalition, will hold a vote on 16 August to determine whether its leaders will retain their cabinet positions. The decision was announced by DAP Secretary-General Anthony Loke on Tuesday, following a slump in public support for the party and the government coalition after a series of defeats in regional elections. DAP is the largest party in the Pakatan Harapan coalition and has long been the main support base for ethnic minority voters and progressive groups in Malaysia. However, the party’s popularity has declined amid criticism over its handling of corruption cases, racial and religious issues, and a perceived slowness in delivering the reform agenda previously promised by the government. The situation worsened after Pakatan Harapan lost a regional election for the third consecutive time last Saturday. In that election, Anthony Loke also lost his seat in the Negeri Sembilan state parliament, which he had held for 13 years. Around 4,000 delegates attending the DAP national congress in mid-August will cast a secret ballot on the proposal for the party to keep its leaders in government until the current parliamentary term ends. ‘This vote will determine our participation in the government, namely whether we remain in the cabinet or not,’ Loke said. DAP currently has five ministers and seven deputy ministers in Anwar Ibrahim’s cabinet. Nevertheless, Loke stressed that the outcome of the vote would not affect DAP’s support for Anwar Ibrahim or the party’s membership in the Pakatan Harapan coalition. Malaysia’s next general election is scheduled to take place by early 2028. However, Anwar has previously hinted at the possibility of calling an early election if divisions within his government continue to widen.