Six states in Malaysia went back to the polls on Aug. 12, which had been cast as a referendum on the unity government of Anwar Ibrahim.

Despite fears of a collapse of support for Anwar's coalition, his joining Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition managed to retain control of the three states it held prior to the election, Penang, Selangor, and Negri Sembilan.

However, the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition made inroads into the three states, while maintaining a near total stranglehold on the other three states of Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu, with PN maintaining total control of Terengganu.

Back to the corners

The overall story of the night appears to be one of status quo, with no major political shift occurring, according to results shared by the Malay Mail.

All states were retained by their original parties, and the risk to Anwar's government appears to have dissipated for the moment.

While some analysts predicted this outcome, there were still fears of a pro-Islamist "Green Wave" that would see states like Selangor and maybe even Penang fall into opposition hands, as was warned by former Minister Khairy Jamaluddin in January 2023.

It should be noted that the federal government's composition is not directly affected by the state legislatures, so the risk was always more theoretical than actual.

Holding action

But under the surface, one emerging story will likely be that of the collapse of support for UMNO, which won 19 out of the 108 seats it contested, according to the Malay Mail.

UMNO lost the seven seats it held in Terengganu, leading to a 100 per cent PN legislature, 27 from Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) and 5 from Bersatu.

In Kelantan UMNO lost five seats, only managing to win one, with PH taking the other non-PN seat, won by the progressive Malay party Amanah.

In Kedah, UMNO was effectively wiped out, with PN making significant gains, and PH's PKR and DAP only managing to hold three seats between them.

PN also made gains in Penang, Selangor, and Negri Sembilan.

In Selangor, UMNO was reduced to two seats, while PH itself only managed 32, down from 40 in the previous state assembly.

PN was able to increase its share from 5 to 22, with all other minor parties such as Pejuang, founded by former Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad, and MUDA, founded by former minister Syed Saddiq, failing to win any seats.

Despite the gains by PN, Selangor was held by PH-BN, who surpassed the 29 seats needed to retain control of the state.

In Penang, PN won 11 seats, up 10 from the last assembly. Most of these seats were won by PAS.

Negri Sembilan was a state that was totally controlled by the PH-BN alliance prior to the election but lost five seats to PN, most of those going to PAS. Negri Sembilan was also the main bulk of UMNO's victories, having won 14 seats.

Results and recrimination

The recriminations have already begun, with the former Menteri Besar of Terengganu, UMNO's Idris Jusoh, calling on UMNO president Zahid Hamidi to resign, according to the New Straits Times.

His support for Anwar's unity government was seen as crucial in the period right after the 2022 General Election.

But he has since faced multiple intra-party challenges, which saw him expel or suspend several UMNO heavyweights such as Khairy Jamaluddin and Hishammuddin Hussein.

These results, as Jusoh's Facebook post implies, will likely weaken his position, causing concerns for his other coalition members.

Green wave

What will likely come as a relief for the government was that the "green wave" of pro-Islamists voters appears to not have materialised, or at least not in the numbers initially feared.

PAS did well, and appears to be the one filling UMNO's void, as opposed to Bersatu, which is comprised of former UMNO stalwarts.

Bersatu, while not doing too badly, failed to achieve its own major goal of talking Selangor.

The results are essentially a mixed bag for all involved, the government faring worse than before but better than expected, the opposition making significant inroads, but less than they hoped for.

Malaysian commentators are saying this spells the end of many of Malaysia's opposition's old guard, with politicians like Azmin Ali and Hadi Awang looking likely to be cast aside in favour of more charismatic figures such as Kelantan's caretaker MB Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, a controversial figure beloved in his home state but facing federal charges.

But it also appears that Anwar's unity government will be able to move forward on a more confident footing, bruised, but not battered.

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Top image via @fairuz_azmi83/Twitter, Anwar Ibrahim/Facebook, & Muhyiddin Yassin/Facebook