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Malaysia's ruling coalition wins big in crucial local polls

Xinhua, May 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

Malaysia's ruling coalition secured a landslide victory in a crucial state election in its eastern state of Sarawak on Saturday.

The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) grabbed 72 of the total 82 seats of the state legislation, exceeding its 70-seat target.

BN captured 55 of the 71 seats in the previous state elections.

Oh Ei Sun, a political analyst, said BN's victory largely attributed to Adenan Satem, Sarawak's popular chief minister, whose reform approaches were widely welcomed by the voters.

BN was also helped by the squabbling among the opposition parties, which resulted in several multi-cornered fights.

However, such results may not repeat in the populous Malaysia Peninsula for the next general elections due in two years, Oh said.

Together with the state of Sabah, the two Malaysian states on North Borneo helped the ruling coalition to retain power in the 2013 general election.

Leaders from both the ruling coalition, led by Prime Minister Najib Razak, as well as oppositions have heavily campaigned in Sarawak ahead of the polling day.

The election was overshadowed following a helicopter carrying senior government officials went missing on Thursday. Four more bodies were found on Saturday after a deputy minister was confirmed killed in the accident. Enditem