There is probably no politician who has worked longer towards office than Anwar Ibrahim. He was sworn in by the king as the new prime minister in Malaysia on Thursday at 5pm local time, bringing a long journey to an end and a long-suffering man reaching his destination.
For three decades, the perennial leader of the opposition, Anwar, repeatedly tried to seize power in the country. In the 1990s he was already Deputy Prime Minister. “In 2013 we had 53 percent, but not enough seats,” Anwar, who looks much younger than his 75 years, told foreign journalists in Bangkok a few weeks ago. He actually won the elections in 2018 with his reform program. But his coalition partner, Muhyiddin Yassin, defected to the opposition and became prime minister himself. What followed was a period of instability, with changing prime ministers.
Anwar was not only politically deceived, but also accused of corruption, which he has always denied, and imprisoned for alleged homosexuality. This is still punishable in the predominantly Muslim state. Anwar Ibrahim is married and has six children. “I was in solitary confinement for ten years,” recalls the man, who always seemed friendly. “And after you’ve slept on a concrete floor for a few years, you have second thoughts. You understand the value of freedom differently when you can’t be free.”
“Race and religion should not be the basis for politics”
Anwar went into this campaign with a message of unity and reconciliation. “Race and religion should not be the basis for politics,” he says. The parliamentary elections last Saturday ended in such a way that neither of the two major alliances, neither Anwar’s nor that of former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, was able to win enough seats in parliament. Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) party got 82 seats, while Muhyiddin’s nationalist Perikatan Nasional (National Alliance) got 73 of the required 112 seats.
It was followed by an alliance led by the United Malays National Organization (Umno), which now has 30 seats. In this stalemate, the Umno general secretary said he would support a unity government – if accepted by the king and not led by Muhyiddin. Such a merger was previously unthinkable in Malaysian politics.
King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah met the sultans from nine states on Thursday to deliberate on the deadlock. Malaysia’s noble families take turns as kings on a rotating system and are regarded by the country’s Malay majority as upholders of Islam and tradition. Two thirds of the approximately 33 million inhabitants are mostly Muslim Malays, the largest minorities are Chinese and Indians.
The winners cannot win everything, the losers cannot lose everything, said King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah (right), here at the swearing-in ceremony of Anwar Ibrahim in the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur.
(Photo: Mohd Rasfan/AP)
With the appointment of Anwar, the king also called on Thursday for an end to the political unrest. “His Royal Highness reminds all parties that winners do not win everything and losers do not lose everything,” the palace said in a statement. Anwar Ibrahim has promised to make politics for “every ethnic group and every creed”. “I don’t want to be the prime minister of just a part of the Malays.”
Meanwhile, the police have tightened security across the country to be prepared for unrest. In addition to overcoming rifts between the ethnic groups, Anwar Ibrahim will primarily have to deal with the ailing economy and high inflation. His old adversary Muhyiddin Yassin was still complaining on Thursday evening that Anwar did not have the required majority to govern. According to Anwar, like everywhere else in the world, democracy in Malaysia is becoming “fragile”. So he has achieved his goal. But the work is just beginning.