Breaking the Mold: Anwar Ibrahim's Vision for Malaysia's Reform Agenda

18-06-2023

Lone de Chene

South East Asia and Pacific Human Rights Researcher,

Global Human Rights Defence.

Anwar Ibrahim, the Malaysian Prime Minister, has told news platform Al Jazeera that he is committed to reform. He wants to focus on minority rights and ending corruption.

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country, but since the 70’s, policies that benefit the majority have been in place. These policies give preferential treatment to Muslim Malays and Indigenous People, leaving Chinese and Indian communities behind. This affects their job opportunities, education and housing situation. According to Ibrahim, the governance should not focus on race, but on the needs of the Malays, this would  “help the Malays more than the race-based policies, because the race-based policies have been proven to be used by the few elites and their cronies to benefit themselves”.

Ibrahim is not only fighting against racism, bit also against corruption. Former Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, is currently on trial for money laundering and abuse of power. This happened under Ibrahim’s administration, sending a clear message to the former government. 

It is unsure if Anwar can stay true to his ideology, as Malaysia is a relatively conservative country. But the truth is, Anwar Ibrahim has already made history as Malaysia’s first prime minister from a multiracial party, in a country that has traditionally been ruled by  race-based parties. This might be a sign of the willingness of the Malaysian people for change. 

Sources and further readings:

Chou, C. T. (2023, June 9). Malaysia will ‘not survive’ if it does not change: Anwar Ibrahim. Politics News | Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/9/malaysia-will-not-survive-if-it-does-not-change-anwar-ibrahim