A policeman stands guard between rival groups of Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan supporters outside a nomination centre in Pahang on nomination day.Umno is seeking a return to power in Malaysia this week, four years after being booted out in 2018's historic general election – and the stakes could not be higher, amid high-profile corruption cases that threaten to decimate the party's top ranks.
In the political crisis that followed the collapse of the PH government following Mahathir Mohamad's resignation as prime minister, Umno clawed its way back to prominence. First, as part of a newly formed Malay nationalist coalition administration under Muhyiddin Yassin and later his successor, the party's own Vice-President Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
The current Umno president is facing dozens of charges related to corruption at a charitable foundation that he set up. His predecessor, Najib Razak, isfor corruption and abuse of power linked to a former unit of the scandal-tainted 1MDB state fund that he founded. But the gamble may yet backfire. Nearly six million new voters are eligible to cast their ballots in this week's election – a figure boosted by Malaysia lowering its voting age from 21 to 18 since the last polls. Also, three major coalitions are contesting this time, instead of just two, making the outcome even more difficult to forecast.
Mahathir, Malaysia's two-time prime minister who at 97 is contesting his 11th general election, said a BN win would equate to a victory for corruption. James Chai, a visiting fellow at Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said there would be a massive backlash against Anwar if he were to strike such a deal with Umno.
Rafizi Ramli, deputy president of Anwar's People's Justice Party , sees no reason for secret deals as he expects PH to score more than 100 seats in the polls – based on a study by big data analytics firm Invoke, which he founded. Razlan Rafii, a member of Umno's supreme council, responded to the claims by saying there was "no proof that there is waning support" for the party, telling local media that it was BN, not PH, which had won seven by-elections since 2018.
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