Pakatan Harapan’s core supporters have no option but to vote for the coalition despite their resentment and disappointment because the alternative is too daunting, allowing Anwar Ibrahim to cross one red line after another.

For political scientist Wong Chin Huat, who is also a founding member of the electoral watchdog Bersih, this is one of two misperceptions about the “liberal and minority” base.

“If the above scenario is true, then Anwar can do anything to keep himself in power, including...