So, Najib and Anwar are friends again? Welcome to Game of Thrones, Malaysia
A surprise visit from the prime minister to the jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has analysts abuzz over a possible shake-up in Malaysian politics
They are sworn enemies, but last week’s surprise visits paid by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his loyal deputy Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to the jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in hospital have sparked chatter of a fresh twist in the country’s real-life Game of Thrones.
Both sides immediately dismissed suggestions of an entente, but the cordial demeanour of the warring leaders in photographs widely circulated on social media, as well as the timing – just months ahead of general elections – has spurred commentators to suggest there was a deeper meaning to the visits.
Zahid told reporters he and his boss “set aside politics and acted on compassion” in their separate visits with their spouses on Friday and Saturday. “I know from his body language that he took our visits well,” Zahid said.
Their visits followed shoulder surgery performed on Anwar, 70, at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital. He is serving a five-year jail term after being found guilty of sodomy in 2015, an outcome the charismatic leader says was engineered by Najib, 64, to keep him out of politics.
Interpretations of the visit have also been coloured by recent seismic shifts in political alliances.