Anwar Ibrahim

This is a Malay name; the name "Ibrahim" is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, "Anwar".

Leader of the Opposition of Malaysia Leader of the People's Pact
Yang Berhormat Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim MP

Incumbent
Assumed office 28 August 2008
Monarch	Mizan Zainal Abidin
Prime Minister	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Najib Tun Razak
Preceded by	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Permatang Pauh
Incumbent
Assumed office 28 August 2008
Preceded by	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Majority	15,671
In office 1982–1999
Preceded by	Zabidi Ali
Succeeded by	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
In office 1 December 1993 – 2 September 1998
Prime Minister	Mahathir bin Mohamad
Preceded by	Ghafar Baba
Succeeded by	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Born	10 August 1947 (1947-08-10) (age 63) Cherok Tok Kun, Penang, Malayan Union
Political party	PR-PKR
Spouse(s)	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Children	Nurul Izzah Anwar Ehsan Anwar Nurul Nuha Anwar 3 others
Alma mater	University of Malaya
Profession	Politician
Religion	Islam

Dato' Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim (born 10 August 1947) is a Malaysian politician who served as Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998. Early in his career, Anwar was a close ally of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad but subsequently emerged as the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government.

In 1999, he was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption, and in 2000, to another nine years for sodomy. In 2004, the Federal Court reversed the second conviction and he was released. In July 2008, he was arrested over allegations he sodomised a former male aide of prime minister Najib, and faces new sodomy charges in the Malaysian courts.

On 26 August 2008, Anwar won re-election in the Permatang Pauh by-election and returned to Parliament as leader of the Malaysian opposition. He has stated the need for liberalisation, including an independent judiciary and free media, to combat the endemic corruption that he considers pushes Malaysia close to failed state status.^[1]

Early career

From 1968 to 1971, as a student, Anwar was the president of a Muslim students organisation, Persatuan Kebangsaan Pelajar Islam Malaysia (PKPIM). Around the same time, he was also the president of Persatuan Bahasa Melayu Universiti Malaya (PBMUM). He was one of the protem committee of Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) or Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia which was founded in 1971. He was also elected President of the Malaysian Youth Council or Majlis Belia Malaysia (MBM). In 1974, Anwar was arrested during student protests against rural poverty and hunger. This came as a report surfaced stating that a family died from starvation in a village in Baling, in the state of Kedah, despite the fact that it never happened. He was imprisoned under the Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial, and spent 20 months in the Kamunting Detention Centre.

In 1968-1971, he was first groomed in the National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students (Persatuan Kebangsaan Pelajar Islam Malaysia, PKPIM) as the president of the Union. In 1982, Anwar, who was the founding leader and second president of a youth Islamic organisation called Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM), shocked his liberal supporters by joining the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), led by Mahathir bin Mohamad, who had become prime minister in 1981. He moved up the political ranks quickly: his first ministerial office was that of Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in 1983; after that, he headed the agriculture ministry in 1984 before becoming Minister of Education in 1986. By then, speculation was rife about Anwar's ascent to the Deputy Prime Minister's position as it was a commonly-occurring phenomenon in Malaysia for the Education Minister to assume the position of Deputy PM in the near future.

During his tenure as Education Minister, Anwar introduced numerous pro-Malay policies in the national school curriculum. One of the major changes that he did was to rename the national language from Bahasa Malaysia to Bahasa Melayu. Non-Malays criticized this move as it would cause the younger generation to be detached from the national language, since they would attribute it to being something that belongs to the Malays and not to Malaysians.

U.S. Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen (right) meets with Anwar Ibrahim (left) in his Pentagon office.

In 1991 Anwar was appointed Minister of Finance. In 1993, he became Mahathir's Deputy Prime Minister after winning the Deputy Presidency of UMNO against Ghafar Baba. There is report on Anwar using large cash payments to win support. Anwar is alleged to have resorted to money politics to secure his position as deputy president of UMNO. Anwar's followers were witnessed by even foreign journalists handing out packets of money to acquire support of UMNO division leaders. These followers are said to be working under Anwar's instructions.^[2] Anwar was being groomed to succeed Mahathir as prime minister, and frequently alluded in public to his "son-father" relationship with Mahathir; in early 1997, Mahathir appointed Anwar to be acting Prime Minister while he took a two-month holiday.

Towards the end of the 1990s, however, the relationship with Mahathir had begun to deteriorate, triggered by their conflicting views on governance. In Mahathir's absence, Anwar had independently taken radical steps to improve the country's governing mechanisms which were in direct conflict with Mahathir's capitalist policies. Issues such as how Malaysia would respond to a financial crisis were often at the forefront of this conflict.

Anwar's frontal attack against what he described as the widespread culture of nepotism and cronyism within UMNO (and the ruling coalition as a whole) angered Mahathir, as did his attempts to dismantle the protectionist policies that Mahathir had set up. "Cronyism" was identified by Anwar as a major cause of corruption and misappropriation of funds in the country.

Financial crisis

During the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis Anwar, as finance minister, supported the International Monetary Fund (IMF) plan for recovery. He also instituted an austerity package that cut government spending by 18%, cut ministerial salaries and deferred major projects. "Mega projects", despite being a cornerstone of Mahatir's development strategy, were greatly curtailed.

Although many Malaysian companies faced bankruptcy, Anwar declared: "There is no question of any bailout. The banks will be allowed to protect themselves and the government will not interfere." Anwar advocated a free market approach to the crisis, including foreign investment and trade liberalisation. Mahathir, blamed unchecked currency speculators like George Soros and supported currency controls and tighter regulation of foreign investment.^[3]

In 1998 Newsweek magazine named Anwar the "Asian of the Year." However, in that year, matters between Anwar and Mahathir came to a head around the time of the quadrennial UMNO General Assembly. The Youth wing of UMNO, headed by Anwar's associate, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, gave notice that it would initiate a debate on "cronyism and nepotism". The response was swift, as Mahathir issued lists of cronies who had benefited from government share allocations and privatisations. The list included Anwar and Zahid, along with several of Anwar's other allies. In the list, Anwar's father and his two brothers are showed to have received shares allocated by the government for the bumiputra. His father Datuk Ibrahim Abdul Rahman and his brothers, Farizan and Marzukhi holds shares amounting to more than 7.1 million units in three companies. On 2 May 1998, Dato' Ibrahim Abdul Rahman, owned 250,000 shares of Pengkalen Holdings Berhad and 3,790500 on Nissan Industrial Oxygen Incorporated. Farizon owned 250,000 shares of Pengkalen Holdings Berhad. Marzukhi owned 2,800,000 shares in Penas Corporation^[4]. In the list, Ibrahim Abdul Rahman owned 2,000,000 shares in Industrial Oxygen Incorporated Bhd on 1993.^[5].

Charges of corruption and sodomy

At the UMNO General Assembly, a book, 50 Dalil Kenapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Jadi PM ("50 Reasons Why Anwar Cannot Become Prime Minister") was circulated containing graphic allegations as well as accusations of corruption against Anwar. The book was written by Khalid Jafri, an ex-editor of the government-controlled newspaper Utusan Malaysia and former editor-in-chief of a failed magazine, Harian National. Anwar obtained a court injunction to prevent further distribution of the book and filed a lawsuit against the author for defamation. Police charged the author of the book with malicious publishing of false news.^[6] Among the allegations in the book was that Anwar is homosexual. The police were instructed to investigate the veracity of the claims. In what the Sydney Morning Herald termed a "blatantly political fix-up"^[7], Anwar was charged with sodomy, convicted and given a 15 year prison sentence.

In 1999, Anwar brought suit against Prime Minister Mahathir for defamation for allegedly uttering accusations of immoral acts and calling Anwar a homosexual at a news conference in Malaysia.^[8]

This verdict was partially overturned in 2004, resulting in Anwar's release from prison. The original author of the book died in 2005 of complications from diabetes, but not before the High Court found that he had committed libel and awarded Anwar millions of ringgit in compensation.^[9] The Federal Court on March 8, 2010 ruled that the 1998 dismissal of Anwar from his Cabinet posts by Mahathir was constitutional and valid, meaning Anwar had failed in his bid to challenge his sacking.^[10]^[11]^[12]

Release from prison

On September 2, 2004, a panel of three judges of the Federal Court (Malaysia's highest court) overturned the sodomy conviction by 2 to 1, finding contradictions in the prosecution's case.

Anwar completed his term for corruption after his sentence was being reduced for good behaviour. Although the point was by now moot, an appeal on the corruption charges was heard on September 6, 2004. Under Malaysian law a person is banned from political activities for five years after the end of his sentence. Success in this appeal would have allowed him to return to politics immediately. On September 7, the court agreed to hear Anwar's appeal. However, on September 15, the of Court of Appeal ruled unanimously that its previous decision to uphold a High Court ruling that found Anwar guilty was in order, relegating Anwar to the sidelines of Malaysian politics until April 14, 2008. The only way for Anwar to be freed from this stricture would have been for him to receive a pardon from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

New allegations of sodomy

On June 29, 2008, online news portal Malaysiakini reported that an aide of Anwar Ibrahim had lodged a police report claiming that he had been sodomised by Anwar. The news has since been updated with reports that SMS messages are being distributed claiming that the person who made the report is Anwar's aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who was arrested and allegedly forced to make a false confession. The same text message also claimed the possibility of Anwar being arrested.^[13] Anwar has said that the possibility of a prison sentence as a result of these allegations could be seen as an attempt to remove leadership and transference of power issues caused by his growing support and by-election victories. He also reaffirms his innocence and cites proof in the form of medical reports.^[1]

In July of 2010, will we be the trial against Anwar, once again with allegations of sodomy; he faces up to 20 years in jail and whipping if convicted. Najib's UMNO is trying to jail Anwar again in hopes of crushing his People's Justice Party (PKR).If Anwar is neutralized, this opposition movement would be paralyzed. The charges against Anwar are transparently political. Even when Anwar's accuser - a former intern- admits to meeting with Najib just days before the alleged sexual act occurred and he has since changed his story several times. The charges against Anwar are transparently political. But the obvious intent of the trial matters little in Malaysia, where the government exercises a disabling grip on the justice system and the media. ^[14]

Anti-zionist remarks

In May 2010 Anwar was condemned as anti-semitic by B'nai B'rith International, a prominent Jewish group. In a letter to the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations the group claimed that Anwar was a "purveyor of anti-Jewish hatred" and called on the American government to suspend all contact with Anwar.^[15]

Anwar has made numerous remarks regarding a supposed conspiracy among the Malaysian government, APCO (A public relations firm retained by the Malaysian government), Israel, and the United States. Anwar has condemned the government for seeking advice from APCO. He claims that the firm is linked to the “murder of Muslims in Palestine.” He claims to have provided proof that APCO is a front for the Israeli government to a disciplinary committee of the Malaysian parliament investigating his comments. On another occasion, Anwar speaking from the parliament, claimed that the firm was controlled by Jews and working on behalf of the American government to influence Malaysian foreign policy. He further implied that changes in Malaysian foreign policy could only be explained if Jews were manipulating Malaysia for the United States.^[16]

Just prior to the 2008 elections Anwar claimed in an interview that he has “evidence proving that the government is backing the Jewish lobby in the U.S. and some parties inside Israel.”

In a press conference at the London School of Economics Anwar said that he is not anti-Semitic but against Zionists or "nasty Jews". He differentiated himself from Mahathir who occasionally attacked Jews but made no apology for being friendly with Jews.^[17]

Anwar, has recently been APCO's target. In Malaysia, Anwar has often been mocked for having "Jewish friends." Najib's mentor and predecessor, Mahathir, even went so far as to say Anwar "would make a good prime minister for Israel." In return, Anwar seized Najib's hiring of APCO as a chance to issue inflammatory remarks on the firm's supposed ties to Israel. This backfired when APCO distributed Anwar's comments internationally along with a series of unattributed anti-Semitic statements posted on his website. The result is that on the eve of his trial many of his Western allies have questioned Anwar's integrity^[18]

Anwar has been critical of some policies of the current Israeli government. And in the last few months he has even become more vocal as he wrestles with Najib's media apparatus to avoid being pinned as blindly pro-Israel. But Anwar is hardly an anti-Semite. Contrast this with UMNO--which has led entire rallies inveighing against "the Jew."^[19]

Political prospects

In November 2006, Anwar announced he planned to run for Parliament in 2008, after his disqualification expired. Anwar has been critical of government policies since his release from prison, most notably of the controversial New Economic Policy (NEP), which provides affirmative action for the Bumiputras. The policy sets a number of quotas, such as for units of housing and initial public offerings, that must be met.^[20]

He is also the Advisor of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, the party of which his wife Dr. Wan Azizah is president. He was in the forefront in organising a November 2007 mass rally, called the 2007 Bersih Rally, which took place in the Dataran Merdeka Kuala Lumpur to demand clean and fair elections. The gathering was organised by BERSIH, a coalition comprising political parties and civil society groups, and drew supporters from all over the country.

The 2008 election date, however, was set for 8 March 2008, sparking criticisms that Barisan Nasional called for early elections in a bid to deny Anwar's plans for a return to Parliament. In response, Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, declared that she would step down should she retain her Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat to force a by-election in which Anwar himself would contest.^[21]

When asked about the possibility of Anwar becoming the next Prime Minister, former leader Tun Dr. Mahathir reacted by saying rather sarcastically, "He would make a good Prime Minister of Israel".^[22]

On April 14, 2008, Anwar celebrated his official return to the political stage, as his ban from public office expired a decade after he was fired as Deputy Prime Minister. One of the main reasons the opposition seized a third of parliamentary seats and five states in the worst ever showing for the Barisan Nasional coalition that has ruled for half a century, was due to him leading at the helm.^[23] A gathering of more than 1,000 supporters greeted Anwar in a rally welcoming his return to politics. Police interrupted Anwar after he had addressed the rally for nearly two hours and called for him to stop the gathering since there was no legal permission for the rally.^[24]

On April 29, 2008, after 10 years of absence, he returned to the Parliament, albeit upon invitation as a spouse guest of Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, People's Justice Party and the first female opposition leader in Malaysian Parliament's history.^[25]

Permatang Pauh by-election

Anwar Ibrahim was victorious in the Permatang Pauh by-election held on August 26, 2008. Muhammad Muhammad Taib, information chief of the UMNO, stated: "Yes of course we have lost . . . we were the underdogs going into this race."^[26] Anwar won by a large majority against Arif Shah Omar Shah of the National Front coalition, according to Election Commission officials.^[27] Reuters reported "Anwar Ibrahim has won with a majority of 16,210 votes"; according to news website Malaysiakini (http://www.malaysiakini.com), Anwar won 26,646 votes, while the government's Arif Omar won 10,436 votes.^[28] People's Justice Party spokeswoman Ginie Lim told the BBC: "We won already. We are far ahead."^[29]

Final results announced by the Election Commission revealed that Anwar Ibrahim won 31,195 of the estimated 47,000 votes cast in the district, while Arif Shah Omar Shah received 15,524 votes and a third candidate had 92 votes.^[30]^[31]

On August 28, 2008, Anwar, dressed in a dark blue traditional Malay outfit and black "songkok" hat, took the oath at the main chamber of Parliament house in Kuala Lumpur, as MP for Permatang Pauh at 10.03 a.m. before Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia. He formally declared Anwar the leader of the 3-party opposition alliance. With his daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar, also a parliamentarian, Anwar announced: "I'm glad to be back after a decade. The prime minister has lost the mandate of the country and the nation."^[32]^[33] At that time Anwar needed 30 government lawmakers to defect to the Opposition in order to form the next government.^[34]^[35]^[36]

Member of Parliament

Anwar Ibrahim speaks at an election campaign

Petition against Najib Razak

Anwar continued to attack Najib first day as prime minister, stating he found inconsistencies in the latter's decision to release 13 Internal Security Act detainees. He said as long as the ISA existed, Barisan Nasional could still detain citizens at will.^[37]

Struggle to assemble a majority coalition

Anwar has already missed several deadlines he himself set for the transfer of power, each of which came and went: the most recent was Tuesday 16 September 2008.^[38] Anwar said he would need more time, and the recalibration of his message has not gone unnoticed: Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak chose that day to initiate a broadband internet program Anwar opposes, saying that he had not doubted that the government would still be in office on 16 September.^[39] Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi too pointed out that Anwar had missed his own deadline, and dismissed his claim to have secured the defection of 30 MPs.^[40]

By 25 September Anwar had still not amassed enough votes, creating doubts for Malaysians about whether he was really ready to take power^[41], particularly in light of his failure to meet his own 16 September deadline for the transition of power. In the interim, UMNO had its own party meeting^[42]^[43] to broker Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's step down from power in June 2009, a year earlier than previously promised ^[44]

On 24 October 2008, Anwar admitted problems with his stalled bid to topple Umno's majority, saying that Pakatan Rakyat is running out of options to create a majority.^[45] His "credibility among ordinary Malaysians has been somewhat dented after Sept 16 and the new promise of forming the Government has not generated the sort of anticipation or excitement as before."^[46] Media within the country have taken an increasingly hostile view towards Anwar's protestations and failed threats to assemble a majority government.^[47]

Personal life

Anwar was born in Cherok Tok Kun, a village on the mainland side of the northern Malaysian state of Penang, to an Indian Muslim hospital porter, Ibrahim Abdul Rahman (later to join politics and retire as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health) and Che Yan, a housewife (and later UMNO politician). He was educated at University of Malaya, where he read Malay Studies. Prior to that, he took his secondary education at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar.

Teaching and non-profit work

Since his release from prison, Anwar has held teaching positions at St Antony's College, Oxford, where he was a visiting fellow and senior associate member, at Johns Hopkins School of Advance International Studies in Washington DC as a Distinguished Senior Visiting Fellow, and as a visiting professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. In March 2006 he was appointed as Honorary President of the London-based organization AccountAbility (Institute of Social and Ethical AccountAbility).^[48]

In July 2006, Anwar was elected Chair of the Washington-based Foundation For the Future ^[49]. In this capacity, he signed the October 1, 2006 letter to Robin Cleveland of the World Bank, requesting the transfer of the secondment of Shaha Riza from the US Department of State to the Foundation for the Future. This transaction led to Paul Wolfowitz's resignation as president of the organization.^[50] He was one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You in 2007, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding.

Publications and speeches

Anwar giving a speech in 2005.

Articles

"Radical Islam in Southeast Asia" (password required) Far Eastern Economic Review, November 2006, 60th Anniversary Issue. Published in Arabic ^[51]^[52]^[53]^[54]^[55] and in al-Bayane al-Youm (Morocco) on January 1, 2007.
"Accountability and the Future of Freedom" Islamica Magazine, Issue #16, Winter 2006.
"Universal Values and Muslim Democracy" Journal of Democracy, July 2005. Published in Arabic ^[52]^[56]^[57]^[58]^[59]^[60]^[61]
"Political Accountability and the Moral Imperative" Accountability Forum, Issue 7, Fall 2005
"On Shah Wali Allah's Socio-Political Thought and Ibn Hazm's Kitab al-Fasl fi al-Milal wa al-Ahwa' wa al-Nihal." In Islamic Studies, Vol. 43, No. 2, 371-377.
"The Quest for Social Justice" Global Agenda Magazine, January 2005

Op-ed

"A Test for the West in Turkey" Washington Post, July 6, 2007, A15. Published in Arabic ^[62]^[63]^[64]^[65]^[66]^[67]^[68]
"Seeing the Bigger Picture" Accountability21 December 22, 2006. Published in Arabic ^[69]^[70]^[71]^[72]
"Malaysian Mudslinging" Wall Street Journal, October 3, 2006
"Cultivating the Seeds of Democracy" Los Angeles Times, March 25, 2006
"Whither East Asia" Wall Street Journal, December 15, 2005
"Destructive Engagement" Asian Wall Street Journal, June 15, 2005 ^[73]
"Democratic Contagion Hits ASEAN Countries" New Perspectives Quarterly, Spring 2005
"A passion for freedom" The World in 2004, The Economist
"Who Hijacked Islam?" Time October 8, 2001

Speeches

"The Central Role of Governance and Accountability in Achieving Development Goals in the 21st Century" Inter-American Development Bank Forum on the Americas, December 7, 2006, Washington DC.
“The Challenges of Islam and Democracy” University of Chicago, November 8, 2006.
"Democracy and the Muslim World" Stanford University, October 11, 2006.
"Democracy, Human Rights, and the Destiny of Southeast Asia" Severyns-Ravenholt Lecture at the University of Washington, October 10, 2006
"Islam & Democracy" Center for Democratic Institutions Annual Address, Canberra, Australia, July 20, 2006.
"Between Tyranny and Freedom: A Brief Voyage with the Bard" World Shakespeare Congress, Brisbane, Australia, July 19, 2006 ^[74]
"Accountability and the Future of Freedom" Presidential Fellows Lecture at the World Bank in Washington DC June 19, 2006
"Islam and Democracy" Keynote address at World Movement for Democracy Fourth Assembly, Istanbul, Turkey, April 2, 2006
"Freedom or Sharia" Columbia University, January 30, 2006
"The Future of Muslim Democracy" December 1, 2005
"Examining the Challenges of Islam and Democracy" Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, November 7, 2005
"The United States and the Muslim World" Asia Society Keynote Address delivered at SAIS in Washington DC, April 18, 2005
"Between Force and Persuasion" Keynote Address at Inaugural Session of the Conference "Inter-Civilisational Dialogue in a Globalising World", New Delhi, India, April 8, 2005
Anwar Ibrahim's speeches from 1990s posted at The Institute for Policy Research
UNESCO General Council On the occasion of Anwar Ibrahim's election to the presidency of the 25th Session, Paris, October 17, 1989

Media and news

Interviews

"Interview with Anwar Ibrahim" The Diplomat, September 9, 2009
"A Talk with Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim" BusinessWeek, April 10, 2007.
"Anwar’s ‘new’ agenda" The Star, April 8, 2007.
"Malaysian Pledges to Defy Ban on His Return to Politics" Washington Post, Page A14, April 5, 2007.
"Anwar Ibrahim: An Optimist of Freedom and Democracy" The Jakarta Post, January 31, 2007.
"Islam and Democracy" A discussion with Saad el-Din Ibrahim" "One-on-One" hosted by Riz Khan, Al-Jazeera English, November 30, 2006
Bloomberg News Interview with Kathleen Hayes Bloomberg TV, November 29, 2006 "(Print article)"
"Saying no to corruption" Fortune Magazine, October 23, 2006
"Anwar returns: the public reinvention of Malaysia's former deputy PM" Radio Free Australia, July 24, 2006
"Anwar bin Ibrahim's political rollercoaster" Worldview Magazine, Summer 2006
"Islam in Southeast Asia" Interview by Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, April 7, 2006
Foreign Exchange interview hosted by Fareed Zakaria (Scroll to middle of page for transcript) November 4, 2005
Interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty From the "Forum 2000" Meeting in Prague, October 11, 2005
"HardTALK" with Stephen Sackur, 2005