KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar bin Ibrahim served as the 12th and 16th Leader of the Opposition from August 2008 to March 2015 and again from May 2020 to November 2022.
Anwar started his political career as one of the founders of the youth organization, Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM). After joining the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the major party in the long-time ruling BN coalition, Anwar held several cabinet positions in successive governments in the 1980s and 1990s.
He was Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister during the 1990s and was prominent in Malaysia's response to the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In 1998, he was removed from all posts by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and went on to spearhead the Reformasi movement against the government. Anwar was jailed in April 1999 after a trial for sodomy and corruption that was criticized by human rights groups and several foreign governments, until his release in 2004 after his conviction was overturned.
WHY WAS HE IN JAIL?
Between stints as deputy prime minister in the 1990s and as official prime minister-in-waiting in 2018, Anwar spent nearly a decade in jail for sodomy and corruption on charges he says were politically motivated.
Anwar was jailed in April 1999 after a trial for sodomy and corruption that was criticized by human rights groups and several foreign governments, until his release in 2004 after his conviction was overturned.
Mahathir had called Anwar his friend and protégé, and anointed him his successor, but later, amid criminal charges and disagreements over how to handle the Asian financial crisis in 1998, he said Anwar was unfit to lead "because of his character."
The two buried the hatchet briefly in 2018 to oust from power the political alliance they once belonged to - only to fall out again within two years, ending their 22-month-old government and plunging Malaysia into a period of instability.
While still in prison, Anwar re-joined Mahathir Mohamad under new coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) in absentia, which went on to win the 2018 general election. Mahathir outlined a plan for Anwar to take over from himself as Prime Minister after an unspecified interim period. Anwar received a royal pardon from Yang di-Pertuan Agong Muhammad V
In his comeback as Leader of the Opposition from 2008 to 2015 he merged opposition parties into the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition, this unsuccessfully contested in the 2008 and 2013 general elections.
Malaysia’s 15th General Election (GE15) has resulted in a hung parliament scenario, with the Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalitions almost neck and neck in terms of the number of seats won.
With neither coalition having the numbers for an outright majority in the 222-seat Lower House, both coalitions will now negotiate with their potential partners in a bid to form the next government.
PH won 81 seats while PN emerged victorious in 73 seats. Barisan Nasional (BN) finished a distant third with 30 seats.
MALAYSIAN KING HAS LAST SAY
Malaysian King Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah the had to choose on who will be the country's next prime minister, after an election left no party with a majority in parliament and coalition talks failed.
Malaysia's king called a special meeting of his fellow hereditary sultans to discuss who should be prime minister as an unprecedented post-election crisis entered its fourth day.
Five long days of uncertainty after voters made their choice, the Malaysian king finally made his on Thursday. Anwar was sworn-in as the tenth Prime Minister of Malaysia on 24 November 2022
