This Year in Malaysia: Anwar realises dream, Najib jailed over 1MDB, nation mourns victims of landslide, floods

In Malaysia, a 24-year wait to become prime minister is realised, while a former PM is jailed, and the nation mourns a devastating landslide
The country also reopened after two years of living under lengthy and costly Covid-19 lockdowns

Year in Review

Hadi Azmiin Kuala Lumpur

Published: 12:00pm, 28 Dec 2022

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Malaysians will remember 2022 for many historical milestones, including seeing the country reopen after two years of living under lengthy and costly Covid-19 lockdowns. But, the most notable highlights occurred in the political arena, with a more than two-decade dream to become prime minister realised, and the unprecedented jailing of a corrupt national leader.

A hard-fought journey

After a 24-year wait that landed him the unfortunate moniker of Malaysia’s perpetual “Prime Minister-in-waiting”, Anwar Ibrahim finally achieved his ambition of being Malaysia’s prime minister following a tense and tight general election in November.

Anwar, 75, has long been the opposition’s candidate for the premiership since he switched camps in 1998 after he was sacked as Deputy Prime Minister and was eventually incarcerated for sodomy, which he maintains are trumped-up charges.

02:59

From prison to Malaysia’s new leader: Anwar Ibrahim appointed to top seat

While his fall from power in 1998 rocked Malaysia’s political landscape by providing the tired opposition camp with renewed momentum, his ascension to power in 2022 is similarly reshaping Malaysia’s political landscape for the foreseeable future.

The key is the coalition government he formed with erstwhile adversaries in Barisan Nasional, the bloc he was sacked from in 1998 who until recently have since been antagonistic towards him. The “unity government” he now leads is washing away decades of rivalries that have long divided the Malaysian people.

Paying for his crimes

The incarceration of corrupt former prime minister Najib Razak is the defining moment of 2022 for many Malaysians who were sceptical they would ever see the politician behind bars, believing he would always evade justice.

Najib, the aristocratic son of the country’s second prime minister with close ties to the palace, in August began serving a 12-year sentence for his role in looting the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund.

Najib’s co-conspirator Jho Low – the billionaire mastermind of the theft who is infamous for his lavish spending and wild parties with Hollywood A-listers – however remains at large.

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Another fugitive that made headlines was Malaysian defence contractor Leonard “Fat Leonard” Francis, who swindled US navy commanders out of more than US$35 million by wooing them with wild sex parties and luxury gifts, in one of the most extensive bribery scandals in US military history.

Losing its voice

Regionally, Malaysia lost a strong voice that dares to criticise the junta in Myanmar, who continue to sidestep efforts from its Asean neighbours to enter the country and assess the situation following the February 2021 coup that ousted the popularly elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Malaysia, previously led by Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, went against the bloc’s long-standing policy of not interfering in a member country’s internal affairs. Malaysia went against protocol by questioning Myanmar’s repeated refusal to allow Asean’s envoy to enter despite agreeing to allow that to happen in the Five Points Consensus signed in April 2021.

Myanmar junta vows ‘no negotiation’ with NUG, blasts ‘fake news’ campaign

Kuala Lumpur’s tough stance goes beyond words with the country openly meeting with the Myanmar government in exile, the National Unity Government (NUG).

Despite winning his seat in parliament, Saifuddin is no longer in a ministerial position after his party refused Anwar’s call to join his unity government, preferring to remain in opposition.

Sibling rivalry

The year also saw Malaysia and Singapore reopen their borders after two years of Covid closures, allowing separated families that were kept apart far too long to be reunited.

Not everyone was happy, as Malaysians in Johor Baharu, the border town that connects Singapore grumbled at the loss of the peace and quiet they enjoyed the last two years, and at the resumption of the frantic traffic at the international checkpoint.

01:21

Malaysia chicken ban causes poultry shortage in Singapore

The two countries also had a tense moment when Malaysia announced it would suspend the export of fresh chicken to Singapore, which relies on its neighbour for its national dish – chicken rice – after the price of poultry skyrocketed due to dwindling supply owing partly to the war in Ukraine that caused the price of feed to increase.

Disasters

While the cost of living continues to be the focus of the government, this December saw a repeat of the ecological disasters from the previous year with more than 70,000 people being displaced by floods.

The year also saw 31 people – many of them children – killed in one of the worst landslide disasters in the country’s history after almost half a million cubic metres of soil slipped and fell over a campsite near the country’s popular hilltop resort of Genting Highlands.

A family member of a Batang Kali landslide victim wipes his tears as the body of the victim is placed into a hearse. Photo: Reuters

These harrowing experiences led to the prime minister announcing that there will be no New Years’ celebrations, with the country choosing to enter 2023 with quiet respect for the lives lost and affected by the disasters.

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