by Tim Newton
Don’t be underneath any phantasm what has simply occurred in Malaysia. The nation hasn’t been freed from the bonds of a corrupt and draconian long-term government and about to soar into a brand new era of democracy, development and prosperity.
That a 92 12 months old former premier, who nurtured both his current deputy Anwar Ibrahim and the ousted PM Nazib Razak, can win an election is extra a sign of the country’s problems than a prospect of new hope.
The present Malaysia, together with its political corruption and ethnic tensions, is as a lot Mahathir Mohamad’s fault as anybody else’s. His driving into historical past as the saviour of recent Malaysian politics is proof that Malaysians have a really quick memory. Or perhaps they had been just THAT desperate to eliminate Najib Razak, who never quite shook the stain of the IMDB corruption scandal.
A quick historical past. Anwar Ibrahim was Malaysia’s deputy PM and finance minister who has been credited, and lauded, for steering Malaysia through the 1997 asian monetary disaster. In 1998 Newsweek journal named Anwar the “Asian of the Year” but later that year issues became very prickly between Anwar and Mahathir just before the UMNO General Assembly. (UMNO was the primary party in the Barisan Nasional coalition that held sway in Malaysian politics for six a long time.)
“At the General Assembly, a e-book, “50 Reasons Why Anwar Cannot Become Prime Minister”, was circulated containing graphic allegations of homosexuality, in addition to accusations of corruption against Anwar. The guide was written by Khalid Jafri, an ex-editor of the government-controlled newspaper Utusan Malaysia. Anwar obtained a courtroom injunction to forestall further distribution of the guide and filed a lawsuit against the creator for defamation. Police charged the author of the book with malicious publishing of false information. The police were instructed to analyze the veracity of the claims.”

He ended being tried in 1998 in what has internationally described as a ‘political fix up’. What was actually occurring behind these dramatic and salacious allegations? Anwar was pushing for a polite and respectful transition into the highest job however Mahathir (who had already been Malaysia’s PM for 17 years at this stage) would have nothing of it and threw his deputy beneath the political bus.
Mahathir isn’t Comprehensive that Malaysia craves and needs. Neither is the battered and bruised Anwar, who at 70 years of age, has born the brunt of the excesses of brute force and political expediency of his former, and now present, Prime Minister. He has lots of previous political baggage.
At this stage a royal pardon has been sought and, reportedly, granted, to launch Anwar from jail. Anwar would nonetheless have to contest a parliamentary by-election (which he would simply win) after which, THEN, his former mentor/foe/friend/conspirator-to-topple-Najib has to step aside and permit Anwar to be the Malaysian PM.
This lengthy political saga is a good distance from being over but no one should imagine that that is something other than a power seize by an ageing ‘disruptor’ and political expediency-over-integrity for Anwar..g

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