Malaysia enters tight race as long-dominant party seeks win

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, center, waves to his supporters after his nomination documents were accepted for the upcoming general election in Bera, Pahang, Malaysia, Saturday

Campaigning for Malaysia’s general elections started Saturday in a highly competitive race that will see the world’s longest-serving coalition seeking to regain its dominance four years after a shocking electoral loss.

The Nov. 19 election will determine if Barisan Nasional, or National Front, can make a strong comeback or whether political reformers can secure another surprise win that will see their leader, Anwar Ibrahim, achieve a long-held dream of becoming prime minister.

Led by the United Malays National Organization, the coalition had ruled since Malaysia’s independence from Britain in 1957. But anger over government corruption led to its defeat in 2018 polls to Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan, or Alliance of Hope. The election victory sparked hopes of reforms as once-powerful UMNO leaders were jailed or hauled to court for graft, but it was short lived after defections caused the new government to crumble in early 2020 and brought UMNO back to power.

Scores of candidates, including Anwar and 97-year-old, two-time former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, submitted their nomination papers Saturday, paving the way for the start of a 14-day campaigning period. Local media reported that police fired tear gas to quell an unruly crowd outside a nomination center in a rural district on Borneo island.

More than 21 million Malaysians are eligible to cast ballots to fill 222 seats in federal Parliament and choose representatives in three state legislatures.  EILEEN NG, KUALA LUMPUR, MDT/AP