Malaysia’s Melaka election begins as Anwar’s PH seeks to counter resurgent Umno

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Voters began casting their ballots on Saturday morning to decide who will govern the southern Malaysian state of Melaka over the next five years, with the odds stacked against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition in its third electoral battle with federal partner Umno in four months. Malaysia’s election commission expects 70 per cent of the nearly 690,000 eligible voters to cast their ballots at the close of voting, after two weeks of campaigning that saw PH pull.