Failure of one coalition to achieve simple majority in election could bring further political inertia as country faces slowing growth and rising inflation

Malaysia was facing a hung parliament for the first time in its history as support for a conservative Islamic alliance prevented major coalitions from winning a simple majority in a general election.

Without a clear winner, political uncertainty could persist as Malaysia faces slowing economic growth and rising inflation. It has had three prime ministers in as many years.

Clear winner from three main contenders looks unlikely in first election since voting age lowered to 18

Malaysia’s opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim took a narrow lead in Saturday’s general election, though he and his main contenders were far short of a simple majority needed to form the government, early results from the election commission showed.

The former premier Muhyiddin Yassin took an early close second, while the ruling coalition of the prime minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, put up the weakest showing among the three main contenders, losing ground in traditional strongholds, the results showed.

Saturday’s poll is first since voting age was lowered to 18, meaning there are 6m more voters than in 2018

Malaysians will vote in a tightly contested general election on Saturday, after two weeks of fierce campaigning in which politicians have sought to woo millions of young voters by embracing Instagram and TikTok trends.

Saturday’s election is the first since constitutional changes lowered the voting age to 18 and automatically registered voters, meaning there are 6 million more voters than at the previous election in 2018. It is believed to be the first time people under 40 make up the majority of the electorate.

Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who becomes shortest serving PM in Malaysian history, hopes to win stronger mandate for party

Malaysia’s prime minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, has called for an early election, hoping to win a stronger mandate for his party and stabilise the rocky political landscape that has plagued the country over the last four years.

The ruling party’s rush for an election comes as the economy, still recovering from the Covid pandemic, has begun to feel the pinch of rising costs and a global slowdown.