Malaysia Ruling Coalition Split Over Whether to Call Snap Polls

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, center, has called to hold a general election as soon as possible. 

Photographer: Samsul Said/Bloomberg
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Tensions are rising in the largest party in Malaysia’s ruling coalition over whether a general election should be held amid the nation’s worsening coronavirus epidemic.

Ties between Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s Bersatu party and key ally United Malays National Organisation, which holds about a third of the seats in Muhyiddin’s 12-party government, have steadily deteriorated since UMNO threatened to pull out of the coalition in October.