Anwar Ibrahim confident in delivering reforms despite diverse government
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim expressed confidence in implementing promised reforms in Malaysia, despite the diverse political parties within his national unity government. In an interview with Al Jazeera for the documentary “From Prison to Prime Minister: Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim,” he emphasised that all parties share the belief that the country urgently needs reform.
Anwar Ibrahim stated that the parties are unanimous on the need for good governance and tackling corruption in Malaysia. He added, “And then of course we adjust policies. I’m not a dictator. I’m a prime minister of a democratic country.”
However, Tricia Yeoh, CEO of public policy think-tank IDEAS, who also appeared in the documentary as a political observer, said that the reforms would only be likely if Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition could maintain the status quo in the upcoming six state elections. She said, “If they (PH) lose the states or even have their seat numbers slashed and eroded then it will be increasingly difficult for Anwar, I believe, to put forward the institutional reforms he intends to do.”
The 15th general election held in November last year resulted in an unprecedented hung parliament, with none of the contesting coalitions gaining the simple majority needed to form the government. After five days of political uncertainty, PH and Barisan Nasional (BN) set aside their decades-long rivalry to form the current national unity government, thwarting Perikatan Nasional’s bid for federal power.
