KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim held an audience with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on May 18, the palace said, a day after the prime minister raised the prospect of calling a snap general election. The brief statement on the monarch’s official Facebook page said Anwar met the king at the national palace with the chief secretary to the government in attendance, but gave no further details.
A nationwide election is not scheduled until early 2028, yet growing strains within the ruling coalition have intensified calls for Anwar to seek the monarch’s approval for an early poll and to potentially align national voting with multiple state elections expected in the coming months. A palace official described the meeting as a routine weekly audience and declined to disclose its contents. Anwar’s office did not immediately comment.
On May 17 Anwar said he would consider a snap election if internal divisions within his administration deepen. His government is a broad coalition that includes his Pakatan Harapan bloc, the Barisan Nasional alliance led by the United Malays National Organisation, and several smaller parties. Tensions escalated when Barisan announced on May 16 it would independently contest all 56 seats in the upcoming Johor state election without coordinating with Pakatan Harapan.
Political uncertainty grew further after two former ministers and former members of Anwar’s People’s Justice Party, Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, announced on May 17 that they were leaving to lead a smaller party, a step that could encourage additional defections and complicate Anwar’s efforts to maintain coalition unity.