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The Malaysian election season is underway as Malaysian prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has officially dissolved the Malaysian parliament, locally known as GE / PRU 15.
A general election must now be held within 60 days, according to The Star. The Election Commission will now announce a Nomination date and a Polling date.
Communication
On Oct 6, Ismail Sabri met with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Malaysia's king.
GE14, the previous general election, was held on May 9, 2018.
It resulted in the opposition Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition winning power, and the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition losing power for the first time since independence.
Since then, the government has changed prime ministers twice, with a breakaway faction of PH joining UMNO, the core component of the BN coalition, to lead a governing coalition in February 2020. Muhyiddin Yassin of Bersatu took over from Mahathir Mohamad.
Then in 2021, that power dynamic reversed, allowing UMNO to take control of the government, with Ismail Sabri at the helm.
Since then factions within UMNO have reportedly been pushing for a new general election to be held, notably led by the current party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. However, Ismail Sabri has not done so until now.
Free Malaysia Today spoke to Malaysian political James Chin, who suggested this could be due to a break in party unity, between what has become known as the "court cluster", UMNO members facing trial for corruption, and the "government cluster", party members in government.
The next general election must be held before September 2023.
CNA reported that Ismail Sabri has obtained the assent of the king to dissolve parliament. Therefore, the next general election will now be held within the next 60 days.
Get it together
A GE15 held before the end of 2022 means that there will be an election held during Malaysia's monsoon season.
This is not an unprecedented occurrence, the 1999 general election was held at the end of November. But GE15 comes after a particularly bad monsoon season at the end of 2021. Although described as a "once in a century" event, there are those who are worried of a repeat this year.
Those sentiments are notably exposed by opposition leaders, leading some in UMNO to dismiss the objections as delaying tactics.
Other worries are that an UMNO victory will allow a new government to either delay or dismiss criminal charges against party members.
This is especially notable in the case of Zahid, who was recently acquitted in one trial but continues to face multiple other charges; as well as former PM Najib Razak, who has already been convicted and is still on trial for other charges.
The calling of the election will likely lead to the hard decisions over coalition dynamics. Parties such as PAS, an ethno-religious political party with strongholds on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, is in talks with BN regarding a coalition.
On the opposition side, PH, led by former UMNO Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, is in talks with MUDA, led by Syed Saddiq, once the youngest minister in Malaysian history.
There is also the question of former two time Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who says he would run and become PM again "if requested".
Transitions
GE14 hinged on allegations of corruption against Najib and members of his government.
Since then, Malaysia has gone through significant upheaval, with the Covid-19 pandemic and the return of UMNO and its allies to power, not by an election, but due to defecting Members of Parliament.
While Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor have been found guilty of corruption, several others still face charges, including Ahmad Zahid.
Supporters of the opposition Pakatan Harapan may see this as the fruit of their efforts, as Pakatan Harapan campaigned on rooting out corruption.
But the defection of prominent Bersatu and PKR figures, and the return of UMNO to power pointed to the fragility of the Pakatan Harapan coalition.
As the next few weeks unfold, the campaign will be hard fought.
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Top Image via Mahathir Mohamad/Facebook, Ismail Sabri/Facebook, Anwar Ibrahim/Facebook, & Zahid Hamidi/Facebook