Malaysia’s Anwar under pressure after parliamentary setback complicates reform push

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim may face growing difficulty pushing through major reforms as Malaysia edges closer to its next general election, analysts have said, after a parliamentary setback exposed strains within his broad but fragile ruling coalition. The warning signs emerged when lawmakers failed to pass a constitutional amendment to limit the prime minister’s tenure to two terms – a reform widely expected to succeed given the government’s commanding majority. Anwar’s administration fell... AdvertisementMalaysiaThis Week in AsiaPoliticsMalaysia’s Anwar under pressure after parliamentary setback complicates reform pushThe failure to pass key reforms reflects ‘looser’ discipline in the ruling bloc and complex political negotiations facing Anwar, analysts say3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenJoseph SipalanPublished: 5:00pm, 4 Mar 2026Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim may face growing difficulty pushing through major reforms as Malaysia edges closer to its next general election, analysts have said, after a parliamentary setback exposed strains within his broad but fragile ruling coalition.The warning signs emerged when lawmakers failed to pass a constitutional amendment to limit the prime minister’s tenure to two terms – a reform widely expected to succeed given the government’s commanding majority.Anwar’s administration fell short by just two votes in Monday’s parliamentary sitting, missing the two-thirds threshold required for constitutional amendments despite holding what is widely described as a parliamentary supermajority.AdvertisementOpposition lawmakers later said their members who were present had abstained from voting, turning attention to the government benches and raising questions over why several coalition MPs were absent during the vote.“Almost a full house but for a constitutional amendment the required votes are 148 MPs,” Wong Chen, an elected representative with Anwar’s People’s Justice Party (PKR), said on social media after the failed vote.Advertisement“We need to find out how many of the Madani government MPs failed to attend. All the PKR MPs attended and voted in favour,” Wong added, referring to the administration’s tagline which roughly translates to civilisation.AdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x