Malaysia's election has not immediately resulted in a new government, but it has produced an instant winner -- political Islam.
The conservative Parti Islam Se-Malaysia, known as PAS, has broken out of regional confines, claiming the largest number of seats in parliament for a single party at the expense of some of the most established pro-Malay stalwarts. It's a surge that threatens to deepen existing divides and to open new ones, at a time when the country can ill-afford to rattle investors.
Much is still unclear. As Monday's deadline to form a government was extended by 24 hours, coalitions and parties were still horse-trading. Muhyiddin Yassin looks set to return as prime minister at the helm of the Perikatan Nasional coalition that includes PAS, and claims enough support from regional parties and others to control the 222-seat lower house. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's reformist, multi-racial Pakatan Harapan will struggle without arch-enemy Barisan Nasional (BN), the third electoral bloc, which has the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) as its lynchpin.
