Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim is open to dissent – but not when it comes to when he’ll replace Mahathir Mohamad
Democracy icon promises Pakatan Harapan coalition will listen to opposing views within its ranks – unlike Najib Razak’s Barisan Nasional that ruled for 61 years
Anwar Ibrahim, the pro-democracy icon who unleashed Malaysia’s reformist movement now in power, has vowed to make dissent a welcome part of the new ruling coalition in a distinct break from its predecessor.
In a wide-ranging interview with This Week in Asia, Anwar said there was little hierarchy in the top echelons of the Pakatan Harapan alliance and among its four constituent parties – making it vastly different from the Barisan Nasional alliance that had governed the country for 61 years until the May 9 general election.
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Barisan Nasional was dominated by the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), and some critics have suggested former prime minister Najib Razak’s stifling of criticism within the linchpin party and the broader alliance was a main reason for his defeat.
“The cultural and political environment in Pakatan Harapan is completely different from Umno and Barisan Nasional,” Anwar said during the 45-minute interview in the headquarters of his Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People’s Justice Party) near Kuala Lumpur.
“Umno used to dictate policies and the others are more submissive and timid,” Anwar said, referring to smaller Barisan Nasional component parties. “In Pakatan, we are there as equals,” said the veteran politician, who holds the title of “de facto leader” of Pakatan Harapan.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who ruled Malaysia with an iron fist as Barisan Nasional leader during his first stint in power from 1981 to 2003, “has accepted that the political culture and landscape has changed,” Anwar said.
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The current ruling coalition has its roots in the Reformasi movement Anwar spearheaded in the late 1990s when he was acrimoniously sacked as deputy prime minister by Mahathir and later jailed for corruption and sodomy – convictions he says were set up to keep him and his reform agenda out of Malaysian politics.