Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia's prime minister, in New York on Sept. 21.
nwar Ibrahim’s political journey is the stuff of legend. As an Islamist student leader, he was plucked out of his relative youth in the early 1980s to join Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s government. He rose through the ranks for a decade and a half, becoming heir apparent—only to give it up in 1998 to create a movement demanding a set of political changes known asHe endured repression, trumped-up sodomy charges, and torture during the quarter-century that followed.
Anwar: The bifurcation has not helped regional or international cooperation. But there’s not much that small countries like Malaysia can do about it, except maintain the centrality of ASEAN , in our foreign policy. We should be fiercely independent, and interact and engage with both. Fortunately, we have excellent relations with both East and West. My intention is to make sure that Malaysia emerges as a viable and mature democracy.
Anwar waves as he leaves after Friday prayers at a mosque in Gombak, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 14.Malaysia is a rare example of a democratic Muslim-majority country. But Malay-Islamist supremacist rhetoric is on the rise. How do you plan to combat it? On whether we are prepared to engage with them, of course we do. We must. And I’ve sent to them ... Yes, I have been open to the idea from the beginning. After all, this is a unity government and we do what is best for our country. But of course, we are going to draw a line. Islam is the religion of the Federation , but this is a multireligious country and I want every single citizen in this country, of all religious persuasions, to know that they have a place in this country.
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