Anwar waited 24 years to be PM, but some can’t wait for him to go

Anwar Ibrahim waited 24 years to become prime minister, but one year after he took control of the nation, Malaysians are probably more divided than ever.

So where did Anwar go wrong? There isn’t just one reason, but several.

For a start, Anwar suffers from selective listening. He listens only to himself and the “yes” men who surround him.

They only tell him what he wants to hear, so it is impossible for Anwar to gauge the depth of feeling the rakyat have for him, especially if he is not aware of what is happening on the ground.

Although his public appearances are akin to a superstar on stage, Anwar is basically insecure. Has he been conditioned by the premiership being snatched away before?

Should we lower our expectations of him? He could rebuild our trust and confidence, by working on three major opportunities before the next general election but will he?

The first of these is to work on the last election’s manifesto. However, one of the first failures was the anti-corruption priority.

Having a deputy who is allegedly corrupt reminds us of the hypocrisy of the entire Umno-Baru cabinet which swore that the convicted felon, Najib Abdul Razak was innocent of the 1MDB wrongdoings and the Arab prince’s donation was not a fairy tale.

This unity government’s hypocrisy stinks to high heaven.

The second is to work on the narrative for the 2Rs, but thus far, Anwar has only pandered to the ultra-Malays and Muslims.

After one year of the unity government, does anyone think that there is a clear distinction between Perikatan Nasional’s “Green Wave” and the Madani “Green Wave”?

Anwar accomplished what PAS and Bersatu wanted, had they won the 15th general election outright.

He is aware that his supporters will not drop him because their bogeyman is the “Green Wave”. Ironically, the Malay bogeyman is the DAP.

Malaysia’s tragedy is that Anwar’s supporters are equally insecure and desperate, so they tolerate his flaws.

They will say, “If not Anwar, then who?” or “Do you want a ‘Green Wave’ government?” Are they aware the Constitution does not say that a Malay or Muslim must be PM?

The third opportunity is the economy. However, Anwar cannot make major inroads into the economy if he refuses to deal with the 2R problem. Anything that is “touched” by the influence of the 2Rs is doomed.

The lop-sided New Economic Policy (NEP), the affirmative action policies, lack of meritocracy, the quota system in education and desire to “out-Islam” PAS. The 2Rs hold us back.

When he was sacked by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1998, Anwar rebranded himself as the leader of the reformasi movement. Fast forward to 2023, where are the promised reforms?

“Time, give him time,” his supporters demand, but a few weeks into his rule, new doubts were beginning to emerge.

“He cannot undo what took decades to fester”, they add, but how do you explain some of the things that he did?

He gave the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) more muscle and a financial boost, despite knowing how we despise the agency for micro-managing both Muslim and non-Muslim lives.

Some people said that the ministers, MPs and departmental heads had no choice but to follow Anwar’s orders. Did you notice anyone resigning out of principle?

For Anwar, election day and his re-election prospects loom large in all his calculations. The Indian student who solicited his views about meritocracy and quotas in education was rebuffed several times.

He was coarse and abrupt, and told her that abolishing the quota system would not be good for elections.

Much as we’d like to give him a chance to restore stability in this country, his arrogance with the student suggests that Anwar has no desire to put the long-term interests of the country in front of the short-term interests of his party, or himself.

The people who voted for him should also shoulder some blame.

When I asked someone why he thought Anwar should be made PM, he said, “He went to jail for us, and suffered on our behalf. He was deprived of his family and freedom, just for us. He deserves to be PM”.

Double standards

This “substitutional atonement” reminds one of a certain religious figure. Why should a period of incarceration be sufficient justification for the premiership? Otherwise, we’d have convicts running the country. Ironically, we do, but he’s still in Kajang.

When Nurul Izzah Anwar was sneaked into the Finance Ministry as a special adviser, Anwar acted as if was not guilty of nepotism.

It was also to remind us to “Do as I say, but not as I do.” Anwar failed to uphold the standards that he demanded from others.

Malaysians love freebies, including a PM who will serve for free. How do we value the work of the person who claims that his time and effort are not worth anything?

If his performance deteriorates, some will be unwilling to sack him because who else will work for free? These people have fallen into the false economy trap, which in the long run costs more.

Anwar can avoid a humiliating exit if he were to groom a successor. Not family members, but younger able politicians of any colour or creed to gain experience to lead.

We, and not any third party, will decide who becomes our next PM after the 16th general election. - Mkini

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MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army, and the president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO). Blog, Twitter.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.