Kuala Lampur, July 21 -- For decades, Malaysian voters have been conditioned to view politics through the lens of institutional monogamy.

Citizens voted for a coalition - whether Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan Harapan (PH) - with the expectation that it would remain politically faithful to its declared partners.

When alliances shifted, many accepted the familiar cliche that politics is merely "the art of the possible." Coalition-building was regarded as pragmatic necessity rather than ideological contradiction.

That explanation is no longer sufficient.

Malaysia's increasingly fragmented political landscape requires voters to understand a different concept altogether: political polyamory.

The metaphor may sound unconventional, but i...