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Best of luck, Dato’ Anwar
Under Anwar, our relationship should blossom beyond the common Malay heritage based on our shared values for democracy, freedom, human rights and dignity.
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Malaysia's newly appointed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim offers prayers after taking the oath during the swearing-in ceremony at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 24. (Mohd Rasfan/Reuters)
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hearty congratulations to Anwar Ibrahim on his appointment as prime minister following the most fiercely contested election in Malaysia’s history. The hung parliament from the 15th general election on Nov. 19 led King Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah to make the final decision. On Friday, he gave Anwar the mandate to form the government.
It could not have happened to a nicer guy.
Anwar has been a prime-minister-in-waiting for more than two decades. He was deputy prime minister in the 1990s but things fell apart for him and he was removed from his post by then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who was also his political mentor. From then on, things went from bad to worse and he was persecuted and jailed under trumped-up charges.
After jail time, he returned to politics to set up the People’s Justice Party (PKR). The political party won the election in 2018, but then lost out in the race for the prime ministership, to Mahathir of all people. His party had since been in opposition. Now, finally, he gets the chance to lead Malaysia.
We look forward to a new special relationship with Malaysia under Prime Minister Anwar. He has a soft spot for Indonesia. He launched the pro-democracy campaign in Malaysia in 1998 inspired by the successful movement in Indonesia that forced strongman Soeharto out of power. He even used the Indonesian term “reformasi” for his movement to try to unseat Mahathir.
When Anwar was deprived of access to the tightly controlled Malaysia media in the 2000s, he often flew to Jakarta to give a press conference, where he found a more receptive audience, to criticize the Malaysian government. The Indonesian media duly reported his statements.
Under Anwar, our relationship should blossom beyond the common Malay heritage, based on our shared values for democracy, freedom, human rights and dignity. A bond based on these universal values should be good for the rest of the Southeast Asia region.
