Malaysia's closely watched state elections were a "setback" for the ruling coalition government, according to a political analyst from a risk consultancy.
The polls were held in six states on Saturday, and ended in a split result between the ruling and opposition coalitions, with each side retaining control of three states.
Still, the conservative opposition coalition was able to make significant inroads gaining popularity among voters.
The contest was widely seen as a first test for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's coalition and unity government that came to power in November.
"But what we saw over the weekend is the same thing that happened last November, where the coalition failed to win crucial Malay votes — it happened again."
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