Malaysia state polls: Anwar’s economic policies under fire but unlikely to be affected by election results, say analysts

SELANGOR: A keen follower of the political scene in Malaysia, 38-year-old voter Ahmad Farizul tries to attend as many political rallies as possible during the campaign period for the state polls to get a sense of what is going on.

The Kuang resident in the state of Selangor considers himself to be a fence-sitter and could vote for any coalition or even an independent candidate.

At almost every political rally, the sales executive observed politicians from both sides of the aisle speak about the rising cost of living and make promises to solve this by creating new jobs, reducing inflation and raising incomes at the same time. 

“Sometimes I feel that both sides are saying the same thing. The only difference is they claim to be better and cleaner than the other side,” Mr Ahmad told CNA at a Perikatan Nasional (PN) event on Aug 5.  

Both the unity government and opposition coalitions have been making economic issues a key focus of their campaigns amid rising inflation and cost of living.

While the opposition said the state polls are a referendum on the unity government, political observers and economists believe that the government can still carry out its economic policies regardless of the election results.

Residents from six states – Selangor, Kelantan, Terengganu, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah and Penang – will vote for 245 lawmakers in the state assemblies on Aug 12.

Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah are under the rule of the Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), which is a member of the opposition PN coalition together with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and Parti Gerakan Malaysia (Gerakan).   

Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Penang are under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition which leads the current unity government. 

PH is for the first time working with former rivals Barisan Nasional (BN) in the polls, which come about eight months after federal elections resulted in a hung parliament.