Malaysia’s political arch rivals Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Umno-led Barisan Nasional have joined hands to form the state government of Perak and are expected to do likewise in Pahang, marking a historic moment in Malaysia’s polarised political landscape.

PH, led by prime minister hopeful Anwar Ibrahim, will supply the numbers needed to form a government with a simple majority in each state, while also backing a menteri besar candidate from BN in both.

This will end an impasse in both states, which are yet to have a new administration after Saturday’s polls due to hung state assemblies.

Incumbent Perak Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad, who is from Umno, kept his post and was sworn in on Monday evening.

BN won only nine seats in the 59-seat state assembly, while PH won 24, bringing their joint total to 33 seats. A party needs 30 seats to achieve a simple majority in Perak, something that did not materialise in Saturday’s election, which also resulted in a hung federal Parliament.

In Pahang, BN won 16 seats against PH’s eight seats. Their total of 24 seats is more than the 22 required to form a government with a simple majority in the 42-seat assembly.

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Perikatan Nasional (PN), led by former premier Muhyiddin Yassin, was the single biggest bloc in both Perak and Pahang, with 26 seats in Perak and 17 in Pahang.

But it is now poised to be the opposition in both states, although Pahang PN on Monday insisted that it was still trying to negotiate with other parties to form the state government there.

The Pahang chief of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), which is part of PH, confirmed that the state chapters of PH and BN have come to an agreement, but are awaiting confirmation from the central leadership. Incumbent Pahang Menteri Besar Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail is expected to continue his role in the PH-BN government.

The events in both states also set the stage for possible cooperation between the two coalitions at the federal level.

PH and BN leaders held a meeting at a hotel in capital Kuala Lumpur on Monday in a bid to explore possible cooperation in forming a federal government, to be led by Datuk Seri Anwar, who is bidding to be Malaysia’s 10th prime minister.

His immediate rival for the job is Muhyiddin, who is also trying to form a coalition government with other parties. Both men claim to have the numbers required to form a government with the simple majority of 112 seats. Anwar’s PH has 82 seats in Parliament and Muhyiddin’s PN has 73 – making them the two biggest blocs after Saturday’s polls.

Both men ostensibly need BN’s backing to be able to form a government. The former ruling party was battered in the election, winning only 30 seats and becoming only the third-biggest bloc – its worst electoral performance to date.

However, it has emerged as the kingmaker due to the impasse in forming a new administration, and is set to decide on the matter by Tuesday, when Malaysia’s King, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, expects both PH and PN to submit their proof of majority.

Umno, a Malay party, has for decades considered the DAP, which is predominantly Chinese, to be its political enemy. This is despite PH signing a confidence and supply agreement at the federal level last year with the Ismail Sabri Yaakob administration and with the Perak state government under Saarani’s administration.

Umno and BN chief Zahid Hamidi on Saturday said that his party was prepared to set aside “sentimental differences” to help ensure a stable government is formed nationally. the straits times