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Observers say Najib has already shaped the battlefield in his favor by inducing the opposition to split and carrying out measures such as redistricting electoral boundaries, which will aid his party's electoral prospects. "Najib and the ruling party hold the upper hand," Ibrahim Suffian, director of independent pollster Merdeka Center, told DW.

In late March, the Malaysian parliament agreed to redraw parliamentary and state boundaries in a manner that allegedly favors Najib's party, as it has more support in rural areas than in big cities. The 30 percent of Malaysia's population that lives in rural areas controls more than half the seats in parliament.

Analysts argue that the 1MDB corruption saga hasn't really undercut Najib's support among rural Malays, a key vote bank for his party. The leader has also vowed to protect and secure the privileges of the Muslim-Malay majority, which makes up close to 60 percent of the multi-racial nation's roughly 32 million population that also includes Chinese and Indian minorities.

"The 1MDB issue has hurt Najib's image, but the scandal first broke about three years ago and many voters have become acclimatized by the topic," said Suffian, adding: "politics in multi-ethnic Malaysia is not only about policies and conduct of leadership, but also about how political parties are perceived to be able to convince voters that they are able to protect the voters' interests along communal and regional lines."