Malaysia’s Anwar denies ‘compromise’ in talks with Najib’s Umno
- Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has sparked concern among supporters who fear he plans a tie up between his PKR party and its former nemesis
- He avoids saying whether he has spoken to former leader Najib Razak, but says claims the PKR has reneged on its promises are ‘incorrect’
Anwar’s supporters have reacted with consternation after the 73-year-old said in a weekend interview that his Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Najib’s United Malays National Organisation (Umno) shared fundamental goals.
Those comments stood in sharp contrast to PKR’s long-standing position that its raison d’être was “reformasi”, or national reform to uproot endemic corruption and cronyism brought about during Umno’s decades-long rule of the country.
Anwar’s comments to Mingguan Malaysia, a newspaper aligned with Umno, were read by local observers as an indication that he was now ready to work with the likes of Najib.
Najib, 67, was prime minister when Anwar was imprisoned in 2015 for the second time on a sodomy conviction many see as being politically motivated.
