The contest pits Najib, a political blue blood, against his former political mentor, Mahathir Mohamad, prime minister for 22 years until 2003 and credited with modernizing Malaysia. "The more fundamental primal underpinnings of Malaysian politics remain," said Ibrahim Suffian, co-founder of the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research. The ruling National Front lost its two-thirds majority in parliament in 2008 elections and lost the popular vote in 2013, its worst ever result. Analysts say the ruling coalition is likely to keep a parliamentary majority in Wednesday's election even if its share of the vote shrinks again. Opponents said electoral boundary changes rushed through parliament last month favor the National Front by shifting likely opposition voters into seats where the opposition already prevails.

Source: dna May 08, 2018 05:35 UTC