By KC Cheah, Senior Accredited Director and Award-winning Strategic Advisor
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is running out of road
Three state election defeats have not merely weakened Pakatan Harapan. They have redrawn Malaysia’s political map and placed Anwar at the most consequential crossroads of his premiership.
What he does in the next 90 days will decide whether the Madani government survives — or whether Malaysia is dragged back into another cycle of unstable, bargain-driven coalition politics.
The Warning Signs
The cracks are already showing. Barely hours after the Negeri Sembilan state election, Tan Sri Rais Yatim publicly attacked the appointment of the new Menteri Besar — and aimed his fire straight at UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Rais alleged that state traditions had been compromised by outside interference.
That matters. It exposes the uncomfortable truth beneath the BN-PN understanding:
This is not an alliance of ideology. It is an alliance of convenience — built solely to defeat Pakatan Harapan.
Hadi’s Signal
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has already hinted that Melaka could see a different arrangement. Seat negotiations, he suggested, will depend on “local political realities” — not any permanent pact.
Translation: The BN-PN cooperation is tactical, not strategic.
If such a fragile partnership ever seized federal power, Malaysia would return to endless haggling over seats, positions, and personal interests instead of actual governing. The country has endured years of political uncertainty. Another fragile coalition — driven mainly by the desire to remove Anwar, not by any coherent agenda — risks repeating that instability.
Anwar’s Choice
This leaves the Prime Minister with one unavoidable decision. Does he preserve the Madani coalition as it is — hoping internal contradictions resolve themselves? Or does he act before events overtake him?
The stronger argument is for action. A Prime Minister cannot afford ministers who undermine the government’s political position, contradict coalition interests, or fuel speculation about alternative alignments.
Cabinet responsibility exists for a reason. Ministers are meant to advance collective objectives — not create uncertainty over the government’s direction.
If Anwar concludes that certain ministers no longer share that responsibility, removing them is not revenge. It is an assertion of executive discipline and collective accountability.
The Risk — And the Bigger Risk
Yes, such a move carries dangers. It could trigger UMNO’s withdrawal or expose coalition fractures.
But those risks already exist. Allowing persistent internal uncertainty to continue only postpones the reckoning — and weakens the government’s authority day by day.
Politics rewards decisive leadership more than cautious management. Should UMNO leave, Anwar would need to rebuild his parliamentary majority by strengthening ties with Sabah and Sarawak parties — and seeking support from MPs willing to back a government committed to stability. Those negotiations would be hard. But they would at least rest on a clearer mandate, not constant internal compromise.
The Cost of Waiting
If Anwar keeps making concessions simply to hold the coalition together, he risks looking increasingly dependent on forces whose long-term interests do not align with his own.
That perception erodes confidence within PH and revives the old question: Has Reformasi become secondary to political survival?
Rumours of broader BN-PN cooperation — and shifting alignments at federal and state levels — prove one thing: uncertainty has returned to the centre of Malaysian politics.
The Bottom Line: Narrowing Window
Anwar’s political window is narrowing. Leadership sometimes demands choosing the harder path because the easier one only delays a larger crisis. If he believes certain ministers have become liabilities to his government’s cohesion, credibility, and effectiveness, he has both the constitutional authority and the political responsibility to review their positions.
Strong governments are not preserved by avoiding difficult decisions. They are strengthened by proving that loyalty to the administration’s collective mandate outweighs individual political interests. The next election may not define Anwar Ibrahim’s legacy. The decisions he makes before it, will.
KC Cheah is a Senior Accredited Director and Award-winning Strategic Advisor based in Abu Dhabi, with over 25 years bridging government vision and private capital across ASEAN, the Middle East, and Europe. He has secured USD 2.5 billion in FDI across sovereign mandates, and has closed a USD 1 million funding round for a Malaysian aquaculture enterprise. He serves as Secretary General of the Malaysia Business Council UAE and is an Associate Fellow of the Dr. Mahathir Mohamad Thoughts Institute.
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