KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's ruling Barisan Nasional coalition said it accepted the people's decision after an election on Saturday, but stopped short of conceding defeat, after early results showed the coalition was trailing behind two other contenders.

The coalition said in a statement Barisan remains committed to contributing to the formation of a stable government.

Early results from the Election Commission showed Barisan was trailing behind opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's coalition and former premier Muhyiddin Yassin's alliance.