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Hadi Azmi

Aidan Jones

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Lionised as a student leader, elevated to the forefront of Malaysian politics, then jailed and sidelined under a vengeful mentor, Anwar Ibrahim is finally leading his country after some 30 years of trying.
The prime minister’s office had appeared beyond the grasp of Anwar, Malaysia’s perennial nearly man who looked well set for the role in 2020 only to be shunned again by elder statesman Mahathir Mohamad – his one-time political patron.
Two years on, 75-year-old Anwar has won the confidence of the constitutional monarch in having the numbers required to form a new coalition government, after his Pakatan Harapan (PH) bloc won 82 seats in the tightly-contested 15th general election on Saturday.


In a twist of political fate served up by an angry Malaysian electorate tired of infighting, Anwar was sworn into office on Thursday, while Mahathir, now 97, was ejected from his parliamentary seat.
Anwar’s victory deep into his seventies caps one of the most remarkable political turnarounds in modern Southeast Asian history: a student leader gifted with a rare political touch but whose ambitions were kneecapped by legal charges – including of sodomy in a Muslim-majority country where homosexuality is illegal – and years later the chicanery of his erstwhile mentor Mahathir.
“Freedom is part of the human endeavour,” he told This Week in Asia in 2018, exhibiting some of the sanguine qualities in public comments which have also kept him close to the apex of power.
“It must be part of our way of life.”

After a five-day impasse, which saw political rivals scramble to secure allegiances to reach the magic 112 threshold of seats which makes a parliamentary majority, constitutional monarch Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah on Thursday named Anwar prime minister and his Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition as leaders of the government.
That extinguished the hopes of former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin of a return to power after days of wrangling, which saw the country’s racial cleavages reopened, driven by provocative social media posts.
GE15: Anwar Ibrahim named Malaysia’s 10th prime minister
The king had a message for the entire cast of bitter foes who occupy Malaysia’s political stage over the central role they must play in defusing lingering post-election angst and rumour.
“HRH reminds all parties that the winners do not win all and the losers do not lose everything,” he said according to a palace statement. “Reach out your hands to each other and come together as members of the Dewan Rakyat for the future of our beloved nation.”
Anwar and PH appeared to have heeded the king’s request, with no major celebrations immediately planned which could have been seen to goad rival factions.

Old face, new broom
Anwar’s coalition entered the race on the back of public anger with the incessant politicking that has overshadowed cogent policymaking since the last polls in 2018.
After taking power, Muhyiddin was ousted just 18 months later and the Umno-led Barisan Nasional leader Ismail Sabri Yaakob was elevated as prime minister despite the party’s loss in the 2018 election and only winning 40 seats in the house.
“Let it be a lesson for the Malay community in the future; don’t give face and accept people who betray their trust,” said Anwar in a campaign rally two days before Saturday’s pivotal polling day.

Yet Anwar’s hopes of a 100-plus seats were thwarted at the polls as support surged to Muhyiddin’s Islamist coalition Perikatan Nasional.
Anwar, despite his popularity and stature, barely scraped by in his own seat with a thin 3,736 majority over Muhyiddin’s deputy Ahmad Faizal Azumu in Tambun, Perak.
Perikatan Nasional also unseated Anwar’s daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar from the family seat of Permatang Pauh that she inherited from her father, who first won it in 1982.

Anwar comes with heavy political baggage and his repeated failure to grasp the reins of the top office over the years had left him vulnerable to being derided as a perpetual “prime minister-in-waiting”.
But his backstory has given him a strong base, no matter the odds against him.
He emerged as the figurehead of Malaysia’s opposition in the late 1970s, his credibility bolstered by a 20-month detention under the then-Internal Security Act for demonstrating against rural poverty as a student activist leader.
Anwar co-founded the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM) in 1971 as his vehicle to champion Malay and Muslim agendas. That history as an Islamist led some to be wary of him despite his embrace of the struggle for a multicultural Malaysia later in his life.
How the Mahathir-Anwar relationship shaped Malaysia’s politics
He was named by Mahathir as deputy prime minister in 1993 at the age of 46, and served as acting prime minister for three months in 1997 while Mahathir was on holiday.
Until now, that was as close to the top as he got. Anwar lost everything after he was sacked by his mentor in 1998 over allegations of corruption and sodomy.
That event led to his “Reformasi” movement, calling for reform against Mahathir’s strongman rule, which resulted in Parti Keadilan Rakyat that is now in the centre of the PH coalition.

Jailed again in 2015 for sodomy charges that he insists were politically motivated, Anwar was absent when his party was swept into power in 2018, as outrage grew over former prime minister Najib Razak and the 1MDB scandal.
Anwar again emerged from jail, appearing poised for power with an energy belying the years he had lost to the legal system.
In his interview then with This Week In Asia, he commented on his daughter’s description of him as an “irrepressible optimist” saying “yes … I would say incorrigible”.
He was named successor to Mahathir who agreed to pass the baton to him midway through the term, as part of their electoral agreement. But Mahathir dithered and Anwar’s ambitions fizzled once more.


A new Malaysia?
PH’s coalition partners are yet to be announced, but Anwar will need to steer carefully through ethnic and political winds after a frenetic post-election period which has exhumed old divisions.
Malaysians, boosted by six million new voters, have pushed forward the Islamist Parti Islam Se-Malaysia, or PAS, heightening anxiety among ethnic Chinese parties.
But as the dust settles, Malaysia has its 10th prime minister and Anwar the eternal optimist has secured a seemingly impossible ambition for power, decades in the making.


Can Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim push through economic, social reforms amid political roadblocks?

In Malaysia’s rice bowl Kedah state, PAS’ Sanusi takes on Anwar’s allies with all guns blazing

Does Malaysia’s Umno have to ‘outdo’ rival PAS to regain the Malay vote?

Malaysian election: why Anwar’s defamation lawsuit is in public interest

Malaysia election 2022

PM at last: How ‘irrepressible optimist’ Anwar Ibrahim went from prison to becoming Malaysia’s leader

Anwar Ibrahim waves to supporters in Kuala Lumpur as he is led into court to be charged on September 30, 1998. File photo: AP

Malaysia’s new prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim. Photo: AFP 

With a blackened left eye, former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim waves to supporters as he is led into Petaling Jaya court in Kuala Lumpur to be charged, on September, 30, 1998. File photo: AP

Supporters of Anwar Ibrahim gather outside the National Palace on November 22, 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE 

Perikatan Nasional President Muhyiddin Yassin was ousted as prime minister after just 18 months in power. File photo: Bernama/dpa

Nurul Izzah, daughter of Anwar Ibrahim, lost her seat of Permatang Pauh in this year’s election. File photo: AFP 

Supporters of Anwar Ibrahim in Kuala Lumpur hold up Reformasi posters on August 10, 1999, Anwar’s 52nd birthday. File photo: AP 

Anwar Ibrahim Q&A: Malaysian democracy icon on prison, dissent and the cautious approach to race

He walked from jail to the corridors of power. Now Malaysians hope he can lead the country on a path of freedom

(180521) -- KUALA LUMPUR, May 21, 2018 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad addresses civil servants at the Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya, Malaysia, May 21, 2018. Core members of the cabinet led by newly elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad were sworn in on Monday, as the 92-year-old leader vowed to restore the former glory of the country. (Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung) (zf)

Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim poses with his family during a news conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Lai Seng Sin

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de-facto leader, Anwar Ibrahim was pardoned from his prison sentence on 16 May 2018. He is seen here addressing his supporters in Petaling Jaya. Photo: Joe Kit Yong/KRA Group

Jailed former opposition leader and current Federal opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim greets supporters after his released from the Cheras Hospital Rehabilitation in Kuala Lumpur on May 16, 2018. The release of Anwar from prison marks yet another sharp turn in a roller-coaster political life that has left a profound mark on Malaysian politics and society. Anwar was pardoned and released on on May 16, 2018 after serving three years for a sodomy conviction widely considered a railroad job and now quashed following the stunning defeat of a Malaysian regime that had ruled for six decades. / AFP PHOTO / MOHD RASFAN

epa06756835 A handout photo made available by Malaysia Minister of Economic Affairs, Azmin Ali Office shows Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (C), Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (2-L), Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng (L), Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin (2-R) and Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu (R) chairing their first cabinet meeting in Putrajaya, Malaysia, 23 May 2018. Malaysia will cut the salaries of its Cabinet ministers by 10 percent with immediate effect, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad announced on 23 May. EPA-EFE/MALAYSIA MINISTER OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, AZMIN ALI OFFICE HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

He’s back: Anwar Ibrahim. Photo: Nora Tam

Anwar Ibrahim at the People's Justice Party's headquarters in Malaysia. Photo: Nora Tam

Malaysia election 2022: Anwar Ibrahim sworn in as new PM; says role of China ‘pivotal’

New appointed PM Anwar Ibrahim, the Malaysian king and queen, and Anwar’s wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail after the swearing in at the National Palace. Photo: EPA-EFE

Supporters of PM Anwar Ibrahim celebrate outside the National Palace. Photo: EPA-EFE 

Malaysia’s newly appointed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim takes the oath of office during his swearing-in ceremony at the National Palace on November 24, 2022. Photo: AP 

Çhina’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Anwar Ibrahim at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on October 24, 2018. File photo: AFP 

Supporters of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in Kuala Lumpur. File photo: EPA-EFE

Anthony Loke, secretary-general of Malaysia’s Democratic Action Party (DAP). Photo: Handout

A man stands in front of a picture of Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi at party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: AP

Malaysia election 2022: Islamists rise but next leader must govern for all, not just the majority

Perikatan Nasional supporters in Penang wave party flags on the eve of Malaysia’s general election. Photo: Reuters

Perikatan Nasional chairman Muhyiddin Yassin (second from left) with other leaders after Malaysia’s 15th general election in Shah Alam on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi shows his inked finger after casting his vote at a polling station during the general election in Perak, Malaysia. Photo: Malaysia’s Department of Information/AFP

Pakatan Harapan coalition flags in Petaling Jaya in Selangor state, Malaysia on Sunday. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s reformist alliance topped the race with 82 seats, but fell far short of a majority. Photo: AP

Voters wait in line at a polling station during the 15th general election on Saturday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

The rise of Muhyiddin Yassin: As Mahathir’s star wanes, Malaysia has a new ‘comeback kid’

Muhyiddin Yassin (centre), former Malaysian prime minister and Perikatan Nasional chairman, during a news conference after the country’s 15th general election on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Muhyiddin Yassin signing a document on his first day of work as Malaysia’s then-prime minister in March 2020. Photo: Malaysia’s Department of Information/AFP

A poster features Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob near a polling station during a general election in Shah Alam, Selangor. Barisan Nasional suffered its worst ever performance in a general election on Saturday. Photo: Bloomberg

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The Pakatan Harapan chief’s victory caps one of the most remarkable political turnarounds in modern Southeast Asian history
Anwar, 75, tided through three decades of highs and lows with the belief that ‘freedom is part of the human endeavour. It must be part of our way of life’



Anwar Ibrahim’s victory in the Malaysian election caps one of the most remarkable political turnarounds in modern Southeast Asian history.
