Shafie Apdal has lost his bid to remain the Chief Minister of the Malaysian state of Sabah.

The leader of the Warisan Plus alliance in Sabah, allied with the Pakatan Harapan coalition, called for the snap state election after a group of Sabah state representatives announced their intention to switch parties.

Without the election, the state government would have immediately fallen to the current ruling Perikatan Nasional coalition, a loose alliance of the Bersatu, Barisan Nasional and PAS parties.

Victory in Sabah for Bersatu and Barisan Nasional, according to early polling

But as it turned out, the election merely delayed the inevitable.

At 8:55pm, Malaysiakini reported that Bersatu's secretary-general, Hamzah Zainuddin, declared victory for the Perikatan Nasional-aligned parties in Sabah, referred to as Gabungan Rakyat Sabah.

The Barisan Nasional chief in Sabah, Bung Moktar Radin, also claimed victory and thanked the voters.

Malay Mail also reported that the alliance managed to secure a minimum of 37 seats, the majority needed out of the 73 seats up for grabs, according to unofficial early polling.

What next for Muhyiddin?

The result is a welcome respite for Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who spent time campaigning in Sabah on behalf of Perikatan Nasional.

However, as of 9:30pm, more UMNO candidates have won seats than his Bersatu candidates, which might be a sign of UMNO's strength at the polls.

Given that UMNO have declined to formally ally with Bersatu, they may be keeping their cards close to their chest with regards to long-term cooperation with Bersatu.

What next for Anwar?

The PKR leader recently made a startling announcement that he had a "formidable" majority in parliament to form the next Malaysian government.

However, he declined to name the Members of Parliament ostensibly supporting his bid, citing the need to report to the king first.

Meanwhile, the king will spend at least a week in hospital for observation.

On one hand, the Sabah results would appear to be a blow for Anwar, as his Pakatan Harapan allies in Warisan Plus have lost control of a state government.

On the other hand, if Anwar does indeed have the numbers, his support would have to include individual MPs from UMNO in order to have a shot of forming a majority.

Whatever the final outcome may be, it seems clear that UMNO will remain the kingmakers for a non-UMNO Prime Minister, either Anwar (PKR) or Muhyiddin (Bersatu).

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Top image from Bung Moktar Radin's Facebook page.