Malaysians vote in six states in polls seen as referendum on Anwar

A woman casts her vote at a polling station during the state election in Selayang, Malaysia’s Selangor state on August 12.//AFP

Malaysians went to the polls in six states Saturday to vote for state assembly members in elections being closely watched as an indicator of support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government.

While the elections are unlikely to immediately affect Anwar’s current two-thirds majority in parliament, analysts said his hold on power could weaken if his Pakatan Harapan coalition suffers a setback, especially among Malay Muslim voters in the largely Islamic Southeast Asian nation.

Polling centres opened at 8 am (0000 GMT), with more than 9.7 million voters expected to cast votes to elect 245 assembly members in the states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.

Of the six states, Anwar’s coalition holds three,…