ANALYSIS | Perikatan Nasional made further gains during the Aug 12 state polls, fuelled by a campaign that deemed the elections as a referendum against the Anwar Ibrahim administration.

The Pulai by-election, however, has seen the fledgling coalition set more modest goals - denying Anwar a two-thirds majority in Parliament.

Anwar became the prime minister in November 2022 with the support of 148 non-PN MPs, just enough for a two-thirds majority that should, in theory, allow him to amend the Federal Constitution.

With the death of Pakatan Harapan-Amanah MP Salahuddin Ayub, PN’s campaign has pivoted away from dethroning Anwar to...