First Port Dickson, then Malaysia: democracy icon Anwar Ibrahim’s first steps to political comeback
The country’s prime-minister-in-waiting faces a key by-election. But while the first contest in his long-awaited to return to power is widely considered a walkover, the true challenge will be maintaining stability in his party
Tomorrow, Malaysian democracy icon and prime-minister-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim faces down six other candidates in the Port Dickson by-election to see who will represent the constituency in Parliament, which resumes Monday. This by-election is a stepping stone for Anwar’s move to assume premiership, as it is a requirement that the prime minister be a parliamentarian.
Although the by-election is widely considered to be a walkover for the former deputy prime minister, his return to active politics may be the harbinger of instability within his party, the People’s Justice Party (PKR), which is currently in the process of internal elections.
The two-week campaign period in the seaside constituency in the state of Negeri Sembilan has seen Anwar intensely canvassing for votes among different ethnic groups, hearkening back to his heyday as a political dynamo. His campaign has seen support from Cabinet members as well as Indian film megastar Kamal Hassan, who recorded a video endorsing Anwar as a democratic icon. Observers believe this indefatigability, as well as his position as the father of Malaysian reformist politics, will carry Anwar through this by-election and into Parliament with relative ease.
However, the campaign in Port Dickson has been marred by dirty tactics such as the anonymous spreading via social media of grainy photographs depicting two men kissing, one of whom vaguely resembles Anwar.
“Anwar has been campaigning with a lot of energy, attending and speaking at event after event,” says Awang Azman, an associate professor with University Malaya’s Academy of Malay Studies. “These dirty tactics of trying to reignite the sodomy allegations he was accused of not once but twice demonstrate a desperate attempt to affect Anwar’s vote margin. They believe he will win, but they want to lower his margin in Malay areas.