Commentary: Upcoming Malaysia state polls set to be a referendum on PM Anwar and his multicultural vision

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is making the upcoming six state assembly elections personal.

While the polls on Aug 12 have been widely framed as a barometer of the level of support from the Muslim Malay community for the prime minister’s unity government, Mr Anwar is taking a different tact, presenting them as a referendum on his seven-month premiership that is anchored on multiracialism and a civil society, better known as Malaysia Madani.

Mr Anwar, Malaysia’s 10th prime minister since independence in 1957, is asking Malaysians, particularly the Malays who make up more than 60 per cent of the country’s 33.6 million people, to break away from the politics of race and religious rhetoric that he insists have failed Malaysia.

He wants voters to deliver a message that would signal their backing for a new multiracial political compact championed by his fledgling administration, which is led by his Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.

It is a big ask, particularly at a time when the opposition Malay parties are doubling down on claims that the community is at risk of losing their political clout, which could result in economic marginalisation. What is more, Mr Anwar’s opponents are arguing that multiculturalism is a direct threat to the status of Islam as the country’s official religion.

Mr Anwar’s loudest opponent for a new Malaysia is Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who dominated Malaysian politics for decades. Dr Mahathir, who turned 98 this week, was Malaysia’s prime minister from 1981 to 2003, and again from 2018 to 2020.