Malaysia politics

Less than a year since the last general election, the country's political parties are gearing up for another round of electoral battle across six states.

The ban comes in the midst of a conservative culture war that has targeted the country's gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community.

Ahead of the August 12 elections, the country remains highly politically polarized along ethnic lines.

For years, the caretaker chief minister of Kedah state and his party have whipped up Malay grievances that threaten to undermine the country's ethnic and social cohesion.

The six state polls, especially those in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, shape as a crucial political test for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's Pakatan Harapan coalition.

The decision comes amid a rise in racial and religious online rhetoric as the country moves toward important state elections.

In his attempts to mollify Malay nationalists and Islamic conservatives, Anwar risks alienating his liberal and multi-ethnic support base.

The rare intervention by Sultan Ibrahim follows a report of a plot by disgruntled MPs to abandon Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's unity government.

The Federal Court rejected Prime Minister Najib Razak's request, with a judge describing him as "the author of his own misfortunes."

Having finally scaled the pinnacle of his country's politics, will political compromises now undermine Anwar's dream of a genuinely democratic Malaysia?

The case is likely to raise the political temperature ahead of a string of important state elections later this year.

The High Court ruling would appear to undermine the claim of the former leader's supporters that the cases against him are politically motivated.