Zahid Demands Early Malaysia Poll as Anwar Courts East Malaysia — SkimNews
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- Ahmad Zahid Hamidi declared at UMNO's general assembly that GE16 should be held immediately to "reclaim the mandate to lead," openly daring PM Anwar Ibrahim to sack UMNO from the unity government.
- Barisan Nasional swept 48 of 56 seats in Johor (July) and 18 of 36 in Negeri Sembilan (August), with UMNO and PAS forming a supermajority together in the latter.
- Zahid proposed a "grand collaboration" with PAS — framed by analysts as a rebrand of the old Muafakat Nasional alliance — centered on Malay-Muslim consolidation, though non-Malay parties were said to be welcome with UMNO in charge.
- A combined PAS-BN ticket could win about 100 parliamentary seats, or up to 120 if a "Malay Tsunami" materializes, approaching or surpassing the 112-seat simple majority needed to form government.
- PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said at the party's Sep 5 congress that non-Muslims should be confined to Cabinet implementation roles, with policy formulation led by Muslim ministers — rhetoric that alarms East Malaysian coalitions GPS and GRS.
- Anwar Ibrahim announced on Sep 12 that the federal government has consented to increasing Sabah and Sarawak's parliamentary representation, with Sarawak potentially getting a revenue-sharing deal like Sabah's, as he courts East Malaysian allies ahead of GE16.
Why it matters: Zahid is openly defying the sitting PM from inside the Cabinet, betting that a UMNO-PAS Malay consolidation could deliver up to 120 parliamentary seats — near or beyond the 112-seat simple majority — while Anwar's only viable counterweight is delivering on the 1963 Malaysia Agreement to win over East Malaysian blocs, including demands for a larger share of oil and gas revenue and 35% of parliamentary seats.
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