In Najib Razak’s previous tenure as prime minister, some $4.5bn was bilked from a state investment fund, 1MDB, while his own bank balance rose by nearly $700m (an unrelated gift, he said)
Malacca is a bellwether for southern peninsular Malaysia, the country’s political heartland. A general election due by July 2023 will probably be called next year. Not only mightregain its old grip; so, even, might Mr Najib. He is appealing against his convictions for corruption. Out on bail, he has rebranded himself the people’s champion and was omnipresent in the Malacca campaign.
Then came machinations within Dr Mahathir’s party that in early 2020 saw him ousted in favour of a deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin, whose Perikatan Nasional cobbled together a government with elements of.
Mr Anwar intended such moves to keep Pakatan Harapan in contention. Instead, they dismayed backers for whom Mr Anwar was once a beacon for a new, transformational politics. The final straw came in Malacca, where Pakatan Harapan welcomed exactly the kind of frog-hopping he supposedly deplored, leading to the state government’s fall and a new election. Pakatan Harapan paid the price.
Is it all over for reform? Bridget Welsh of the University of Nottingham Malaysia says that the next general election will see a sharp increase in first-time voters, owing to a lowered voting age and new, automatic voter registration. Younger Malaysians are those pushing hardest for change. As covid-19 restrictions ease, anti-corruption protests will grow.
A groundswell for change exists. But for it to be channelled through Pakatan Harapan, Mr Anwar should now give up his bid of more than two decades to become prime minister. No doubt that he has personally suffered in the attempt, spending nearly ten years in prison on politically motivated charges, first under Dr Mahathir and then under Mr Najib. And more than any other politician, he has reminded Malaysians that change is possible. But the 74-year-old is no longer the solution.
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