Malaysian key opposition party’s power struggle threatens to dent election hopes

Malaysia’s opposition is in open civil war, with a power struggle threatening to split the main bloc against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim just two years out from the next general election.Bersatu, or the Malaysian United Indigenous Party, sits at the core of Perikatan Nasional (PN), a conservative alliance whose appeal surged in the 2022 polls and became the biggest opposition after a hung parliament produced a unity government led by Anwar.A succession fight between party chief and former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his deputy Hamzah Zainudin has spilled into the open, with disciplinary threats and rival camps trading resignation calls, according to analysts.The immediate trigger is a disciplinary summons issued to Hamzah, who is also Malaysia’s parliamentary opposition leader. A notice dated February 6 said Bersatu’s disciplinary board had received written complaints and wanted Hamzah to explain allegations linked to attempts to undermine the party leadership.It warned that in the event of his failure to attend a February 12 hearing, the board could decide the case without further reference to him.Hamzah’s allies have rallied behind him amid talk that groundwork is being laid for him to be suspended or expelled.