Malaysian leader of the opposition Anwar Ibrahim has been named as the Pakatan Harapan coalition’s prime ministerial candidate, as the Southeast Asian nation gears up for a general election next month.
The long-time opposition leader is the second politician to offer himself as leader in the national vote that is to be held on Nov. 19. The move puts Anwar, 75, in a contest against Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, 62, who was endorsed by the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) in April.
Anwar said that upon becoming prime minister, his priority would be to combat corruption and tackle poverty that affects all races in multicultural Malaysia.
Photo: Bloomberg
“Our battle is not one to just seek power, but is against corruption and racial politics,” he said on Thursday at the party’s convention in Perak state.
This is the second time that Anwar is helming the opposition election campaign, and the move might be one of his last chances to lead Malaysia.
Anwar had been in line to take power from former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad after the two joined together in the Pakatan Harapan coalition to win the 2018 election.
However, Mahathir repeatedly delayed handing over power, prompting divisions within the ruling bloc to fester, eventually leading to its collapse in 2020.
Anwar made several more unsuccessful bids to become premier in the wake of Mahathir’s resignation.
Mahathir on Friday said he is prepared to meet with Anwar to discuss working together again in the coming election and repeating their 2018 success.
“The choice I have to make is very simple — to defeat the evil destroying the country, I must cooperate with my former rivals who have also agreed to stop that evil,” Mahathir said.
The 97-year-old is leading a separate coalition comprising pro-Malay parties that oppose UMNO.
Anwar was seen as Mahathir’s successor in the 1990s before he was fired in the wake of the Asian financial crisis, after which he spent six years in prison for abuse of power and sodomy.
He was released from prison in 2018 after the king granted him a pardon following Pakatan Harapan’s electoral victory.
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