General Election in Malaysia: Stalemate as rival blocs claim majority

Rival blocs yesterday claimed they had secured the support they needed to form a government after Malaysia's hotly contested polls saw no party emerge with a clear majority of parliamentary seats.

Veteran opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said his coalition had enough seats to form the country's next government, which would allow him to become prime minister.

Former premier Muhyiddin Yassin -- who heads the rival Perikatan Nasional (NA) grouping -- also said he was in talks to form the next administration after Saturday's election.

The stalemate comes in a country that has seen three governments in as many years. In a bid to break the impasse, the palace yesterday asked the leaders of political parties to submit their preferred choice of coalition partners and for prime minister by 2 pm (0600 GMT) Monday.

While both leading political blocs claimed victory, neither offered details on the alliances they would make to form a government.

At the end of vote-counting, Anwar's Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) coalition won 82 seats and Muhyiddin's Perikatan Nasional grabbed 73, official results showed.

The once mighty Barisan Nasional -- dominated by jailed ex-leader Najib Razak's United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party -- trailed far behind the rest with only 30 seats, its worst performance since Malaysia won independence in 1957.

One of the highest profile losses in the election was former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, 97, who was roundly defeated in his constituency.