Global Courant
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has reaffirmed the need for reform, saying Malaysia must change or it will not survive.
“When it comes to governance, I think it’s my duty to take and bring about change because the country has been somewhat devastated. Unless there is a clear political commitment and determination to change, I don’t believe Malaysia will survive,” he said in an in-depth interview with Al Jazeera’s 101 East program, emphasizing his commitment to Malaysia’s transition from race based on needs. based positive action policy.
Anwar, now 75, became prime minister following elections in November 2022, capping a turbulent rise to the top of Malaysian politics.
As a youth leader, he quickly climbed the political ladder, becoming second-in-command to then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in the 1990s. Dismissed and charged with sodomy and corruption in the midst of the Asian financial crisis, Anwar was eventually jailed twice on charges widely seen as politically motivated, fueling a campaign for reform that has spanned more than 20 years.
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country, but since the 1970s there has been a policy of affirmative action that benefits the majority of Malaysia’s Muslims and indigenous peoples. Such policies give these ethnic groups preferential treatment in areas from jobs to education and housing and were introduced as part of a social engineering program following race riots between the Malays and ethnic Chinese in May 1969.
While the policy was intended to be temporary, it has remained in effect ever since, fueling resentment among the country’s minority Chinese and Indian communities and leading many to leave the country in search of better opportunities elsewhere.
Anwar talking to Chan Tau Chou from Al Jazeera’s 101 East (Sadiq Asyraf/Prime Minister’s Office of Malaysia)
And with Malaysia’s relatively high income inequality, it also raises questions about whether the policy has reached those who need it most.
For Anwar, a needs-based approach would “help the Malays more than race-based policies, because race-based policies have been proven to be used by the few elites and their cronies to benefit themselves.”
An uneasy alliance
But whether he can implement such reforms is another question.
Anwar is breaking new ground as Malaysia’s first prime minister from a multi-racial party, in a country traditionally ruled by Malaysians and other racial-based parties. Malays make up just over half of the population and are Muslim by law.
It is also fragile territory because Pakistan’s Harapan (Alliance of Hope) coalition has not won enough seats to form a government on its own.
His rise to power was only made possible by an alliance with smaller parties, including Malaysia’s former governing coalition, Barisan Nasional (National Front), which is led by the Malaysia-only United Malays National Organization (UMNO).
Barisan Nasional was the architect of Malaysia’s race-based affirmative action policy and continued it during his decades-long rule, while UMNO has long profiled itself as the defender of the country’s Malaysian rights.
However, Anwar dismisses concerns about various targets within his alliance.
“What is important is that the coalition is based on certain core principles: good governance, a strong stance against corruption (and) abuse of power, and economic policies that can serve the common man and woman,” he said.
Issues of race and religion are chronic fault lines in Malaysia.
Anwar’s main opponent is Perikatan Nasional (National Alliance), a coalition of conservative Malaysian Muslim parties. It has already attacked Anwar over issues such as his government’s recent decision to withdraw its appeal against a court ruling allowing non-Muslims to use the word Allah, the Malay and Arabic word for God, with opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin Anwar criticized as “reckless”. .
With six state elections scheduled for August, the debate over race and religion is expected to become even more heated.
“God willing, I think we will win the upcoming election big time. The people are still with us and they don’t believe this current government can handle it… Maybe they’re just waiting for us to take over,” Hamzah, the leader of the opposition, told 101 East.
Anwar is imperturbable. He says his government is “very stable”.
“What else do you expect from the opposition? Some are very nervous because of my strong stance against corruption and abuse of power. There’s always that rumor about people swinging sides, switching sides. It does not bother me. I think they misread it if they think I’m a little upset. No.”
The prime minister claimed that some of the most corrupt forces that make up the country’s political elites are “conspiring with the billions at their disposal” to remove him from office.
“But now that I’m in power, I’m not sitting still. I will fight them if they want to gain support by buying people, bribing people and protecting their territory,” he said.
Anti-corruption drive
Under Anwar’s rule, an anti-corruption campaign has already trapped powerful opposition figures, including former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is on trial for money laundering and abuse of power.
Muhyiddin is accused of using his position to receive $51 million in bribes to his party’s bank account. He dismisses the allegation, saying the money was for projects to help the public and the economy.
Muhyiddin’s coalition narrowly lost to Anwar’s in the 2022 election, and he has claimed he is seen as a threat to Anwar and has been “the victim of selective political persecution”. The prime minister denies interfering in the corruption investigation.
Anwar’s own deputy, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, also faces multiple corruption allegations filed four years ago during Pakatan Harapan’s previous short spell in power. Given Anwar’s well-known stance against corruption, his choice of Zahid as deputy prime minister was controversial.
According to analyst Tricia Yeoh, Zahid’s role in the new government as UMNO president was seen as a “necessary political compromise” given the party’s crucial position as kingmaker in Anwar’s current alliance.
“Without having Zahid as deputy prime minister, the whole equation would have fallen apart anyway. The government would not have been formed. There would have been no significant Anwar Ibrahim as Prime Minister,” Yeoh said.
Najib Razak became the first Malaysian prime minister to be convicted of a crime and jailed after the country’s top court rejected his appeal last August. He is now asking for a pardon (File: Hasnoor Hussain/Reuters)
Anwar’s role in the case of another former prime minister, Najib Abdul Razak, has also come under scrutiny.
Najib was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2020 for his role in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal and is now seeking a royal pardon. As de facto minister of the federal territories, Anwar is a member of the Pardons Board which will review Najib’s application. This has raised questions about his neutrality as Najib belongs to coalition partner UMNO.
“If you ask for a pardon, it does not mean that you consider yourself innocent. There is the process and I respect the process. Everyone – every prisoner, every convict – has the right to appeal to the king and ask for a pardon. Why deny Najib’s right? Let the process go,” Anwar said.
‘There is no conflict. I’ll look at the process. I have read UMNO’s appeal and my answer is that they have every right to appeal. I can’t get ahead of myself.”
The question remains whether policies that are fair for all can be achieved in a country where the “special status” of Malaysians and indigenous groups is protected in the constitution. For Anwar there is no contradiction.
“This system, you accept it as a reality. What is forbidden, of course, is to use that to discriminate and undermine the rest… This administration we have made very clear. We protect the sanctity of our faith, our religion. But we are Malaysians,” he said.
“It is up to us in the current administration to prove that the future of this country is based on a multiracial agenda.”
Watch the 101 East, The Road Ahead: Anwar Ibrahim episode in Malaysia: aje.io/anwar
The full 101 East interview with Anwar Ibrahim will be released next week.
