KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 — The Najib administration should not regard Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy conviction as a victory but an opportunity to hear out dissenting voices as the Malaysian government still needs a viable opposition, a Hong Kong daily said.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP), which is among Hong Kong’s top English language newspapers, said although Anwar is seen as the administration’s biggest threat, Malaysia also faces other looming troubles that require attention.

“They (Putrajaya) have to deal with plunging oil prices (the nation is a significant exporter), a new sovereign wealth fund’s huge debts, corruption allegations, three air disasters, major floods and a politically divided nation,” the daily wrote in a recent editorial.

“All of this with Malaysia in the spotlight as a UN Security Council non-permanent member and chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations.”

As such, the daily said the Federal Court’s conviction of Anwar should not be regarded as a win for the government as without him, the future of Malaysia’s opposition front is now plunged into uncertainty.

It pointed out that with Anwar behind bars for the next five years, the next general election expected by 2018 will be vastly different from the last.

“Anwar will be in jail and the three-party Pakatan Rakyat (PR) opposition alliance is riven by infighting,” it said.

The paper noted that it was largely due to Anwar that PR first succeeded in forcing BN to lose its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority during the 2008 federal polls.

In 2013 during the 13^th general election, Anwar’s influence and the opposition’s gaining momentum saw the loosely formed PR pact win the popular vote, sweeping more than half of the total votes cast.

But even without Anwar at the helm of the opposition struggle, SCMP repeated, Malaysia still needs a strong opposition voice to “provide a check and balance to the government”.

“(Prime Minister Datuk Seri) Najib (Razak) and his colleagues need it: The criticism of the Anwar trial is the least of their problems,” the paper said.

“Najib should not think of Anwar’s appeal loss as a victory, but an opportunity to be more inclusive. Malaysia needs a viable, strong opposition to keep the government honest.”

The SCMP has a circulation of over 100,000, and is owned by Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok, who now resides in Hong Kong.

Last week, the Federal Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision to overturn Anwar’s acquittal of a charge of sodomising former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, and a five-year jail sentence for the offence.