Malaysia's UMNO boosted by state poll wins

Malaysia's former ruling UMNO party has been boosted by back-to-back state election wins that analysts said could reshape political alliances before the next general election.

Barisan Nasional, the coalition led by UMNO, won control of Negeri Sembilan state in a vote on Saturday by teaming up with opponents of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's government. The result was its second state win in weeks and dealt a defeat to Anwar's Pakatan Harapan alliance.

Bridget Welsh, a Malaysian politics expert at the University of Nottingham Malaysia, said the results were a warning to the prime minister. She said state elections do not necessarily translate into national success and Anwar remains prime minister, but added that he had linked both campaigns to his leadership and lost.

Barisan Nasional ruled Malaysia for decades before losing power in 2018 after a corruption scandal involving its former leader Najib Razak, who is now in jail. Anwar's coalition won the most seats in 2022 but not enough to govern alone, and Malaysia's king asked him to form a unity government with former rivals including Barisan Nasional.

The latest state results do not immediately change Anwar's hold on national power because Barisan Nasional remains part of his governing coalition in parliament. Analysts said the wins could, however, encourage major shifts before the next general election, due by February 2028.

Mohammad Azizuddin Muhammad Sani, a politics and international relations professor at Universiti Utara Malaysia, said he expected Anwar to delay the next general election as long as possible if the current momentum continued.

The political picture is complex. Barisan Nasional is Anwar's national coalition partner but ran against his party's candidates in Johor and joined forces with his main opposition rivals in Negeri Sembilan.