KOTA KINABALU — Chairman of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition Anwar Ibrahim has refuted reports of infighting within coalition parties, saying on Saturday (Nov 12) that they are working together "extremely well" as he expressed confidence that his coalition can win a simple majority to form a government.

Mr Anwar, who is also the president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, was speaking to reporters at a rally in Sabah, while on a whirlwind one-day visit to canvass support for his party in the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak. 

Speaking to TODAY at the rally in Putatan, a suburban town located on the outskirts of capital city Kota Kinabalu, Mr Anwar said that he was confident of winning a simple majority to form the government this election. 

He was responding to a question on who PH would align with to form the government, given that analysts have predicted that none of the main coalitions will win an outright majority.

Questioning if analysts had spoken to people on the ground, Mr Anwar said: “I covered almost the entire country and I must say, realistically, there’s that possibility that we may be able to reach a simple majority.

“We have to work harder and push a little.”

Mr Anwar had previously made similar claims, including in an interview with media outlet Bloomberg on Nov 7.

When asked about the working relations between the coalitions' component parties in Sabah, given reports of infighting, Mr Anwar said that the PH component parties across most states, including those in East Malaysia, "have not encountered problems" and are working together “extremely well”.

Mr Anwar was in Sarawak on Saturday morning for a press conference with media, before flying to Sabah in the afternoon to attend PH rallies at three constituencies. 

The constituencies were Kalabakan, in the east coast of Sabah, and Putatan and Sepanggar in the west coast of the state.

Even an hour before Mr Anwar had turned up at the first rally in Sabah’s Putatan, people had already begun to fill the seats set in the outdoor area of a supporter’s house.

As Mr Anwar eventually pulled up in a black car outside the house, "Eye of the Tiger", the theme song of the 1982 American boxing movie Rocky 3, played over the loudspeakers to announce his arrival. 

The crowd, which numbered more than 200, greeted him with chants of “Reformasi”, a political movement started by Mr Anwar in 1998 to rid the government of corruption.

Mr Anwar delivered a 40-minute speech in Malay, before he was whisked away by aides to his next stop a 40-minute drive away.

Over at Sepanggar, the open-air rally was held in between low-rise, double-storey buildings. 

Mr Anwar delivered his rally speech while standing atop a table to more than 200 people, who were seated in front of him, or watching from the higher floors of the adjoining buildings.

Towards the end of the rally, Mr Anwar led the crowd in a singalong of a Malay song by the late Malaysian actor and singer, P Ramlee, albeit with a twist in lyrics.

For example, the chorus by Mr Anwar goes, "Hoi, hoi ya hoi, siapa sokong penyamun?” “Siapa sokong penyamun” means “who supports the thief”.

The line is a twist on the original lyrics from 1961 which goes “kita semua gembira” (we are all happy).

As he made his way to his vehicle waiting by the road, supporters flocked to Mr Anwar to greet him and snap photos.

Even as he clambered into his car, which was surrounded by a mob of people, Mr Anwar continued to engage supporters and oblige their requests for photos. 

Close to 11pm, Mr Anwar left for the airport in Kota Kinabalu to catch a flight to Kuala Lumpur. Mr Anwar was slated to be in the peninsular Malay states of Kedah and Perlis on Sunday. 

Earlier that afternoon, Mr Anwar had visited the East Malaysian state of Sarawak, where he held a press conference with Mr Anthony Loke, the secretary general of PH’s component party Democratic Action Party. 

At the press conference in the state’s capital of Kuching, Mr Anwar said that PH would offer Sarawakians good governance and a fair and multi-racial, multi-religious agenda. 

He also said that if elected, PH will resolve all matters relating to the 1963 Malaysia Agreement “without much negotiation’. The agreement is a contentious issue among residents from the East Malaysian states who believe that the federal government has not accorded them the rights based on the agreement. 

Mr Anwar also said that PH “will not close the doors” on talks with Gabungan Parti Sarawak, which is the ruling coalition within Sarawak, to be part of the federal government if PH wins this election. However, he said that any talks would only take place after polling day on Nov 19.