Anwar faces balancing act over East Malaysian support, Malay vote

Free Malaysia Today

Analyst says the prime minister cannot talk about religious freedom in Sabah and Sarawak while trying to regain Malay support.  Read More: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2025/02/24/anwar-faces-balancing-act-over-east-malaysian-support-malay-vote/  Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5 Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTNews #AnwarIbrahim #Sabah #Sarawak #MalayVoters

Transcript

00:00An analyst said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is unable to address East Malaysian concerns,

00:07including religious freedom, as he seeks to regain support among Malay voters in Peninsular Malaysia.

00:14James Chin of the University of Tasmania said Anwar faces a dilemma in balancing these competing

00:20interests. He said Anwar lost the Malay vote to Perikatan Nasional in Peninsular Malaysia,

00:26so he now needs to regain support by positioning himself as a Malay Muslim champion.

00:33Chin said Anwar cannot openly express support for religious freedom as it could weaken Malay

00:38support in the peninsula. He said Anwar's best strategy is to remain quiet and avoid discussing

00:44these issues too much. Chin was commenting on remarks by Sabah activist Johan Arifin Samad,

00:51who warned that the Pakatan Harapan Barisan National Alliance could struggle in East Malaysia

00:56if a snap election is called due to rising discontent over the federal government's

01:01handling of religious affairs. Meanwhile, Bilcer Bala of University Malaysia Sabah

01:07said while Anwar and PHBN must focus on religious freedom and local rights, this alone would be

01:13insufficient as economic development, infrastructure and local grievances must also be addressed.

01:20Bilcer urged PHBN to adjust its approach early as East Malaysia's growing identity

01:26and push for self-determination could lead to more regional-focused politics.

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