Anwar Ibrahim
Encyclopedia
Anwar bin Ibrahim is a Malaysian politician who served as Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998. Early in his career, Anwar was a close ally of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad
but subsequently emerged as the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government.
In 1999, he was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption, and in 2000, to another nine years for sodomy
. In 2004, the Federal Court
reversed the second conviction and he was released. In July 2008, he was arrested over allegations he sodomised one of his male aides, and faces new sodomy charges in the Malaysian courts.
On 26 August 2008, Anwar won re-election in the Permatang Pauh by-election
and returned to Parliament as leader of the Malaysian opposition
. He has stated the need for liberalisation, including an independent judiciary and free media, to combat the endemic corruption that he considers pushes Malaysia close to failed state status.
). He was one of the protem committee of Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) or Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia which was founded in 1971. He was also elected President of the Malaysian Youth Council or Majlis Belia Malaysia (MBM). In 1974, Anwar was arrested during student protests against rural poverty and hunger. This came as a report surfaced stating that a family died from starvation in a village in Baling, in the state of Kedah, despite the fact that it never happened. He was imprisoned under the Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial, and spent 20 months in the Kamunting Detention Centre.
In 1968–1971, he was first groomed in the National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students (Persatuan Kebangsaan Pelajar Islam Malaysia, PKPIM) as the president of the Union. In 1982, Anwar, who was the founding leader and second president of a youth Islamic organisation called Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM)
, shocked his liberal supporters by joining the United Malays National Organisation
(UMNO), led by Mahathir bin Mohamad, who had become prime minister in 1981. He moved up the political ranks quickly: his first ministerial office was that of Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in 1983; after that, he headed the agriculture ministry in 1984 before becoming Minister of Education in 1986. By then, speculation was rife about Anwar's ascent to the Deputy Prime Minister's position as it was a commonly-occurring phenomenon in Malaysia for the Education Minister to assume the position of Deputy PM in the near future.
During his tenure as Education Minister, Anwar introduced numerous pro-Malay policies in the national school curriculum. One of the major changes that he did was to rename the national language from Bahasa Malaysia to Bahasa Melayu. Non-Malays criticized this move as it would cause the younger generation to be detached from the national language, since they would attribute it to being something that belongs to the Malays and not to Malaysians.
In 1991 Anwar was appointed Minister of Finance. In 1993, he became Mahathir's Deputy Prime Minister after winning the Deputy Presidency of UMNO against Ghafar Baba
. There is report on Anwar using large cash payments to win support. Anwar is alleged to have resorted to money politics to secure his position as deputy president of UMNO. Anwar's followers were witnessed by even foreign journalists handing out packets of money to acquire support of UMNO division leaders. These followers are said to be working under Anwar's instructions. Anwar was being groomed to succeed Mahathir as prime minister, and frequently alluded in public to his "son-father" relationship with Mahathir; in early 1997, Mahathir appointed Anwar to be acting Prime Minister while he took a two-month holiday.
Towards the end of the 1990s, however, the relationship with Mahathir had begun to deteriorate, triggered by their conflicting views on governance. In Mahathir's absence, Anwar had independently taken radical steps to improve the country's governing mechanisms which were in direct conflict with Mahathir's capitalist policies. Issues such as how Malaysia would respond to a financial crisis were often at the forefront of this conflict.
Anwar's frontal attack against what he described as the widespread culture of nepotism
and cronyism
within UMNO (and the ruling coalition as a whole) angered Mahathir, as did his attempts to dismantle the protectionist
policies that Mahathir had set up. "Cronyism" was identified by Anwar as a major cause of corruption and misappropriation of funds in the country.
, where he was a visiting fellow and senior associate member, at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies
in Washington DC as a Distinguished Senior Visiting Fellow, and in 2005–2006 as a visiting professor at the Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim–Christian Understanding in the School of Foreign Service
at Georgetown University
, where he continues as a Senior Fellow. In March 2006 he was appointed as Honorary President of the London-based organization AccountAbility (Institute of Social and Ethical AccountAbility)
.
In July 2006, Anwar was elected Chair of the Washington-based Foundation For the Future. In this capacity, he signed the 1 October 2006 letter to Robin Cleveland of the World Bank
, requesting the transfer of the secondment of Shaha Riza
from the US Department of State to the Foundation for the Future. This transaction led to Paul Wolfowitz's resignation as president of the organization. He was one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You
in 2007, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding.
(IMF) plan for recovery. He also instituted an austerity
package that cut government spending by 18%, cut ministerial salaries and deferred major projects. "Mega projects", despite being a cornerstone of Mahathir's development strategy, were greatly curtailed.
Although many Malaysian companies faced bankruptcy, Anwar declared: "There is no question of any bailout. The banks will be allowed to protect themselves and the government will not interfere." Anwar advocated a free-market approach to the crisis, including foreign investment and trade liberalisation. Mahathir blamed currency speculators like George Soros
and supported currency controls and tighter regulation of foreign investment.
In 1998 Newsweek
magazine named Anwar the "Asian of the Year". However, in that year, matters between Anwar and Mahathir came to a head around the time of the quadrennial UMNO General Assembly. The Youth wing of UMNO, headed by Anwar's associate Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
, gave notice that it would initiate a debate on "cronyism and nepotism".
(NEP), which provides affirmative action
for the Bumiputras. The policy sets a number of quotas, such as for units of housing and initial public offering
s, that must be met.
He is also the Advisor of Parti Keadilan Rakyat
, the party of which his wife Dr. Wan Azizah is president. He was in the forefront in organising a November 2007 mass rally, called the 2007 Bersih Rally
, which took place in the Dataran Merdeka
Kuala Lumpur to demand clean and fair elections. The gathering was organised by BERSIH, a coalition comprising political parties and civil society groups, and drew supporters from all over the country.
The 2008 election
date, however, was set for 8 March 2008, sparking criticisms that Barisan Nasional called for early elections in a bid to deny Anwar's plans for a return to Parliament. In response, Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
, declared that she would step down should she retain her Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat to force a by-election in which Anwar himself would contest.
When asked about the possibility of Anwar becoming the next Prime Minister, former leader Tun Dr. Mahathir reacted by saying rather sarcastically, "He would make a good Prime Minister of Israel".
On 14 April 2008, Anwar celebrated his official return to the political stage, as his ban from public office expired a decade after he was fired as Deputy Prime Minister. One of the main reasons the opposition seized a third of parliamentary seats and five states in the worst ever showing for the Barisan Nasional coalition that has ruled for half a century, was due to him leading at the helm. A gathering of more than 1,000 supporters greeted Anwar in a rally welcoming his return to politics. Police interrupted Anwar after he had addressed the rally for nearly two hours and called for him to stop the gathering since there was no legal permission for the rally.
On 29 April 2008, after 10 years of absence, he returned to the Parliament, albeit upon invitation as a spouse guest of Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, People's Justice Party and the first female opposition leader in Malaysian Parliament's history.
, information chief of the UMNO, stated: "Yes of course we have lost . . . we were the underdogs going into this race." Anwar won by a large majority against Arif Shah Omar Shah of the Barisan Nasional coalition, according to Election Commission officials. Reuters
reported "Anwar Ibrahim has won with a majority of 16,210 votes"; according to news website Malaysiakini (http://www.malaysiakini.com), Anwar won 26,646 votes, while the government's Arif Omar won 10,436 votes. People's Justice Party spokeswoman Ginie Lim told the BBC
: "We won already. We are far ahead."
Final results announced by the Election Commission revealed that Anwar Ibrahim won 31,195 of the estimated 47,000 votes cast in the district, while Arif Shah Omar Shah received 15,524 votes and a third candidate had 92 votes.
On 28 August 2008, Anwar, dressed in a dark blue traditional Malay outfit and black "songkok" hat, took the oath at the main chamber of Parliament house in Kuala Lumpur
, as MP for Permatang Pauh
at 10.03 am before Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia. He formally declared Anwar the leader of the 3-party opposition alliance. With his daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar
, also a parliamentarian, Anwar announced: "I'm glad to be back after a decade. The prime minister has lost the mandate of the country and the nation." At that time Anwar needed 30 government lawmakers to defect to the Opposition in order to form the next government.
detainees. He said as long as the ISA existed, Barisan Nasional could still detain citizens at will.
By 25 September Anwar had still not amassed enough votes, creating doubts for Malaysians about whether he was really ready to take power, particularly in light of his failure to meet his own 16 September deadline for the transition of power. In the interim, UMNO had its own party meeting to broker Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's step down from power in June 2009, a year earlier than previously promised
On 24 October 2008, Anwar admitted problems with his stalled bid to topple the UMNO's majority, saying that Pakatan Rakyat is running out of options to create a majority. His "credibility among ordinary Malaysians has been somewhat dented after Sept 16 and the new promise of forming the Government has not generated the sort of anticipation or excitement as before." Media within the country have taken an increasingly hostile view towards Anwar's protestations and failed threats to assemble a majority government.
On 30 March 2010, Anwar Ibrahim alleged in the Dewan Rakyat
the 1Malaysia was mirrored after “One Israel
” concept and designed by Mindteams Sdn Bhd, a branch in Malaysia of Apco Worldwide, an international public relations company engaged by the Malaysian government that also created the One Israel concept in 1999 for then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak
. Barisan Nasional
government has claimed it was false and its lawmakers have tabled a motion to censure Anwar for misleading the Parliament over his 1Malaysia-One Israel allegations which was passed by the Parliament on 22 April 2010.
At the UMNO General Assembly, a book, 50 Dalil Kenapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Jadi PM ("50 Reasons Why Anwar Cannot Become Prime Minister") was circulated containing graphic allegations as well as accusations of corruption against Anwar. The book was written by Khalid Jafri, an ex-editor of the government-controlled newspaper Utusan Malaysia
and former editor-in-chief of a failed magazine, Harian National. Anwar obtained a court injunction to prevent further distribution of the book and filed a lawsuit against the author for defamation. Police charged the author of the book with malicious publishing of false news. Among the allegations in the book was that Anwar is homosexual. The police were instructed to investigate the veracity of the claims. In what the Sydney Morning Herald termed a "blatantly political fix-up", Anwar was charged with sodomy, convicted and given a 15-year prison sentence.
In 1999, Anwar brought suit against Prime Minister Mahathir for defamation for allegedly uttering accusations of immoral acts and calling Anwar a homosexual at a news conference in Malaysia.
This verdict was partially overturned in 2004, resulting in Anwar's release from prison. The original author of the book died in 2005 of complications from diabetes but not before the High Court found that he had committed libel and awarded Anwar millions of ringgit in compensation. The Federal Court on 8 March 2010 ruled that the 1998 dismissal of Anwar from his Cabinet posts by Mahathir was constitutional and valid, meaning Anwar had failed in his bid to challenge his sacking.
Anwar completed his term for corruption after his sentence was being reduced for good behaviour. Although the point was by now moot, an appeal on the corruption charges was heard on 6 September 2004. Under Malaysian law a person is banned from political activities for five years after the end of his sentence. Success in this appeal would have allowed him to return to politics immediately. On 7 September, the court agreed to hear Anwar's appeal. However, on 15 September, the of Court of Appeal ruled unanimously that its previous decision to uphold a High Court ruling that found Anwar guilty was in order, relegating Anwar to the sidelines of Malaysian politics until 14 April 2008. The only way for Anwar to be freed from this stricture would have been for him to receive a pardon from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
.
On 29 June 2008, online news portal Malaysiakini
reported that an aide of Anwar Ibrahim had lodged a police report claiming that he had been sodomised by Anwar. The news has since been updated with reports that SMS messages are being distributed claiming that the person who made the report is Anwar's aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who was arrested and allegedly forced to make a false confession. The same text message also claimed the possibility of Anwar being arrested. Anwar has said that the possibility of a prison sentence as a result of these allegations could be seen as an attempt to remove leadership and transference of power issues caused by his growing support and by-election victories. He also reaffirms his innocence and cites proof in the form of medical reports.
, businessman Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah
and former Perkasa
treasurer Datuk Shuaib Lazim.
Salahuddin Ayub
vice president of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party ruled out suspending ties with Pakatan Rakyat
stating that,"Everything is wrong about the whole scandal. The way the video was revealed was wrong and watching it is wrong. Islam does not accept this,". However the chief of PAS's Ulama council
has stated that if the video is authentic they would consider reviewing ties with PKR. Lim Kit Siang, head of the Democratic Action Party
stated that the Barisan Nasional
reached "new depths in character assassination" and that the scandal was manufactured just in time for the Sarawak Elections
. Chairman of UMNO's youth wing, Khairy Jamaluddin
stated that the Barison National never said that it was Anwar in the video, and that it was odd that the opposition automatically took a defensive attitude. Barisan Nasional MP, Abdul Rahman Dahlan
stated that the matter should remain personal, and not be used for political purposes. On 4 April, part of the sex clip with a running time of nearly two minutes, was leaked online on anti-PKR blogsites and Youtube. A second part of the sex video was released on Youtube and a pro-UMNO blog website. The police and the government have been criticized for their slow response by the opposition in prosecuting the culprits who showed the sex video.
On 22 April 2010 Anwar was censured by Malaysia's parliament for remarks he made during a press conference in parliament on 30 March 2010. During the press conference, Anwar claimed to have documents linking 1Malaysia, One Israel
, and the public relations firm APCO but refused to allow access to the documents when challenged The Malaysian government and APCO have both strongly denied Anwar's allegations. The censure motion passed by the House of Representatives referred Anwar's case to the Rights and Privileges Committee which will recommend a punishment for approval by the full chamber. Such punishment could include being banned from parliament. However Anwar retaliated against the Malaysian government attacks by producing the two documents to back up his statements and refute the government's denials of links between APCO and 1Malaysia.
In a press conference at the London School of Economics
Anwar made comments about Zionists and "nasty Jews". In the press conference he also stated that, "There are good Jews, there are bad Jews, there are good Muslims and bad Muslims."
In May 2010, B'nai B'rith International, a prominent Jewish human rights organization condemned Anwar in a letter to the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, claiming that Anwar was a "purveyor of anti-Jewish hatred" and asked the American government to suspend all contact with Anwar.
In Malaysia, Anwar has often been mocked for having "Jewish friends." Najib's mentor and predecessor, Mahathir, even went so far as to say Anwar "would make a good prime minister for Israel." In return, Anwar seized Najib's hiring of APCO as a chance to issue inflammatory remarks on the firm's supposed ties to Israel.
, a village on the mainland side of the northern Malaysian state of Penang
, to an Indian Muslim hospital porter, Ibrahim Abdul Rahman (later to join politics and retire as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health) and Che Yan, a housewife (and later UMNO politician). He undertook his secondary education at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar
. He was educated at the University of Malaya, where he read Malay Studies.
He is married to Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
and they have four daughters and a son. His eldest daughter, Nurul Izzah Anwar
, is also a member of Parliament. In 2010 Anwar underwent two separate LASIK
operations which rendered him with 20-20 vision, one of which was to treat an eye injury sustained when he was beaten by the then-chief police inspector in 1998.
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Mahathir bin Mohamad
Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad . is a Malaysian politician who was the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the post for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, making him Malaysia's longest serving Prime Minister. His political career spanned almost 40 years.Born and raised in Alor Setar, Kedah, Mahathir...
but subsequently emerged as the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government.
In 1999, he was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption, and in 2000, to another nine years for sodomy
Sodomy
Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
. In 2004, the Federal Court
Federal Court of Malaysia
The Federal Court of Malaysia is the highest court and the final appellate court in Malaysia. It is housed in the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya...
reversed the second conviction and he was released. In July 2008, he was arrested over allegations he sodomised one of his male aides, and faces new sodomy charges in the Malaysian courts.
On 26 August 2008, Anwar won re-election in the Permatang Pauh by-election
Permatang Pauh by-election, 2008
A by-election was held for the Dewan Rakyat parliamentary seat of Permatang Pauh on August 26, 2008 with nomination day on August 16, 2008. The seat of Permatang Pauh in the Dewan Rakyat, fell vacant after the resignation of the incumbent, Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, on 31 July 2008...
and returned to Parliament as leader of the Malaysian opposition
Opposition (Malaysia)
The Opposition in Malaysia is a term used to describe political parties represented in the Parliament of Malaysia that are not in government either on their own or as part of a governing coalition. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in parliamentary systems, i.e...
. He has stated the need for liberalisation, including an independent judiciary and free media, to combat the endemic corruption that he considers pushes Malaysia close to failed state status.
Early career
From 1968 to 1971, as a student, Anwar was the president of a Muslim students organisation, Persatuan Kebangsaan Pelajar Islam Malaysia (PKPIM). Around the same time, he was also the president of Persatuan Bahasa Melayu Universiti Malaya (PBMUMPBMUM
Persatuan Bahasa Melayu Universiti Malaya is a Malay language, literature and culture oriented student body that has played an active role in the development of the modern Malay language in Malaysia and Singapore.-History:PBMUM was established as Persekutuan Bahasa Melayu in Singapore on 29...
). He was one of the protem committee of Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) or Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia which was founded in 1971. He was also elected President of the Malaysian Youth Council or Majlis Belia Malaysia (MBM). In 1974, Anwar was arrested during student protests against rural poverty and hunger. This came as a report surfaced stating that a family died from starvation in a village in Baling, in the state of Kedah, despite the fact that it never happened. He was imprisoned under the Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial, and spent 20 months in the Kamunting Detention Centre.
In 1968–1971, he was first groomed in the National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students (Persatuan Kebangsaan Pelajar Islam Malaysia, PKPIM) as the president of the Union. In 1982, Anwar, who was the founding leader and second president of a youth Islamic organisation called Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM)
Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM)
Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia or the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement was founded in 1972 and is considered the most organized force in Islamic revivalism in Malaysia....
, shocked his liberal supporters by joining the United Malays National Organisation
United Malays National Organisation
The United Malays National Organisation, is Malaysia's largest political party; a founding member of the National Front coalition, which has played a dominant role in Malaysian politics since independence....
(UMNO), led by Mahathir bin Mohamad, who had become prime minister in 1981. He moved up the political ranks quickly: his first ministerial office was that of Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in 1983; after that, he headed the agriculture ministry in 1984 before becoming Minister of Education in 1986. By then, speculation was rife about Anwar's ascent to the Deputy Prime Minister's position as it was a commonly-occurring phenomenon in Malaysia for the Education Minister to assume the position of Deputy PM in the near future.
During his tenure as Education Minister, Anwar introduced numerous pro-Malay policies in the national school curriculum. One of the major changes that he did was to rename the national language from Bahasa Malaysia to Bahasa Melayu. Non-Malays criticized this move as it would cause the younger generation to be detached from the national language, since they would attribute it to being something that belongs to the Malays and not to Malaysians.
In 1991 Anwar was appointed Minister of Finance. In 1993, he became Mahathir's Deputy Prime Minister after winning the Deputy Presidency of UMNO against Ghafar Baba
Ghafar Baba
Tun Ghafar Baba was a Malaysian politician from Melaka and a former Deputy Prime Minister. He was born on February 18, 1925 in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan, the son of an impoverished villager...
. There is report on Anwar using large cash payments to win support. Anwar is alleged to have resorted to money politics to secure his position as deputy president of UMNO. Anwar's followers were witnessed by even foreign journalists handing out packets of money to acquire support of UMNO division leaders. These followers are said to be working under Anwar's instructions. Anwar was being groomed to succeed Mahathir as prime minister, and frequently alluded in public to his "son-father" relationship with Mahathir; in early 1997, Mahathir appointed Anwar to be acting Prime Minister while he took a two-month holiday.
Towards the end of the 1990s, however, the relationship with Mahathir had begun to deteriorate, triggered by their conflicting views on governance. In Mahathir's absence, Anwar had independently taken radical steps to improve the country's governing mechanisms which were in direct conflict with Mahathir's capitalist policies. Issues such as how Malaysia would respond to a financial crisis were often at the forefront of this conflict.
Anwar's frontal attack against what he described as the widespread culture of nepotism
Nepotism
Nepotism is favoritism granted to relatives regardless of merit. The word nepotism is from the Latin word nepos, nepotis , from which modern Romanian nepot and Italian nipote, "nephew" or "grandchild" are also descended....
and cronyism
Cronyism
Cronyism is partiality to long-standing friends, especially by appointing them to positions of authority, regardless of their qualifications. Hence, cronyism is contrary in practice and principle to meritocracy....
within UMNO (and the ruling coalition as a whole) angered Mahathir, as did his attempts to dismantle the protectionist
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
policies that Mahathir had set up. "Cronyism" was identified by Anwar as a major cause of corruption and misappropriation of funds in the country.
Teaching and non-profit work
Since his release from prison, Anwar has held teaching positions at St Antony's College, OxfordSt Antony's College, Oxford
St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.St Antony's is the most international of the seven all-graduate colleges of the University of Oxford, specialising in international relations, economics, politics, and history of particular parts of the...
, where he was a visiting fellow and senior associate member, at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies
Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies , a division of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., is one of the world's leading and most prestigious graduate schools devoted to the study of international affairs, economics, diplomacy, and policy research and...
in Washington DC as a Distinguished Senior Visiting Fellow, and in 2005–2006 as a visiting professor at the Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim–Christian Understanding in the School of Foreign Service
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service is a school within Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., United States. Jesuit priest Edmund A...
at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, where he continues as a Senior Fellow. In March 2006 he was appointed as Honorary President of the London-based organization AccountAbility (Institute of Social and Ethical AccountAbility)
AccountAbility (Institute of Social and Ethical AccountAbility)
AccountAbility is an independent, global, not-for-profit organisation promoting accountability, sustainable business practices and corporate responsibility...
.
In July 2006, Anwar was elected Chair of the Washington-based Foundation For the Future. In this capacity, he signed the 1 October 2006 letter to Robin Cleveland of the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
, requesting the transfer of the secondment of Shaha Riza
Shaha Riza
Shaha Riza, , is a World Bank employee currently on external assignment at the Foundation for the Future, a "semi-independent foundation to promote democracy" in the Middle East and North Africa...
from the US Department of State to the Foundation for the Future. This transaction led to Paul Wolfowitz's resignation as president of the organization. He was one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You
A Common Word Between Us and You
A Common Word between Us and You is an open letter, dated 13 October 2007, from leaders of the Muslim faith to leaders of the Christian faith. It calls for peace between Muslims and Christians and tries to work for common ground and understanding among both faiths, in line with the Qur'anic...
in 2007, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding.
Financial crisis
During the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis Anwar, as finance minister, supported the International Monetary FundInternational Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
(IMF) plan for recovery. He also instituted an austerity
Austerity
In economics, austerity is a policy of deficit-cutting, lower spending, and a reduction in the amount of benefits and public services provided. Austerity policies are often used by governments to reduce their deficit spending while sometimes coupled with increases in taxes to pay back creditors to...
package that cut government spending by 18%, cut ministerial salaries and deferred major projects. "Mega projects", despite being a cornerstone of Mahathir's development strategy, were greatly curtailed.
Although many Malaysian companies faced bankruptcy, Anwar declared: "There is no question of any bailout. The banks will be allowed to protect themselves and the government will not interfere." Anwar advocated a free-market approach to the crisis, including foreign investment and trade liberalisation. Mahathir blamed currency speculators like George Soros
George Soros
George Soros is a Hungarian-American business magnate, investor, philosopher, and philanthropist. He is the chairman of Soros Fund Management. Soros supports progressive-liberal causes...
and supported currency controls and tighter regulation of foreign investment.
In 1998 Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
magazine named Anwar the "Asian of the Year". However, in that year, matters between Anwar and Mahathir came to a head around the time of the quadrennial UMNO General Assembly. The Youth wing of UMNO, headed by Anwar's associate Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Dato' Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is a Malaysian politician and is currently the Minister for Defence in the Barisan Nasional coalition government of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Bagan Datoh constituency in Perak...
, gave notice that it would initiate a debate on "cronyism and nepotism".
Political prospects
In November 2006, Anwar announced he planned to run for Parliament in 2008, after his disqualification expired. Anwar has been critical of government policies since his release from prison, most notably of the controversial New Economic PolicyMalaysian New Economic Policy
The Malaysian New Economic Policy , was an ambitious and controversial socio-economic restructuring affirmative action program launched by the Malaysian government in 1971 under the then Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak. The NEP ended in 1990, and was succeeded by the National Development Policy in...
(NEP), which provides affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
for the Bumiputras. The policy sets a number of quotas, such as for units of housing and initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
s, that must be met.
He is also the Advisor of Parti Keadilan Rakyat
Parti Keadilan Rakyat
The People's Justice Party , often known simply as KeADILan) is a centrist political party in Malaysia formed in 2003 by a merger of the National Justice Party and the older Malaysian People's Party...
, the party of which his wife Dr. Wan Azizah is president. He was in the forefront in organising a November 2007 mass rally, called the 2007 Bersih Rally
2007 Bersih rally
The 2007 Bersih Rally was a rally held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on November 10, 2007. The aim of this walk was to campaign for electoral reform...
, which took place in the Dataran Merdeka
Dataran Merdeka
Merdeka Square is located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is situated in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. It was here the Union Flag was lowered and the Malayan flag hoisted for the first time at midnight on August 31, 1957...
Kuala Lumpur to demand clean and fair elections. The gathering was organised by BERSIH, a coalition comprising political parties and civil society groups, and drew supporters from all over the country.
The 2008 election
Malaysian general election, 2008
The 12th Malaysian general election was held on March 8, 2008, in accordance with Malaysian laws for national elections, which states that a general election must be held no later than five years subsequent to the previous elections; the previous general election was held in 2004...
date, however, was set for 8 March 2008, sparking criticisms that Barisan Nasional called for early elections in a bid to deny Anwar's plans for a return to Parliament. In response, Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Yang Berbahagia Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is a Malaysian politician. She is currently the president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat and she was the Member of Parliament for Permatang Pauh from 1999 to 2008. She was also the Leader of Opposition in Dewan Rakyat from March 2008 until 31 July 2008...
, declared that she would step down should she retain her Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat to force a by-election in which Anwar himself would contest.
When asked about the possibility of Anwar becoming the next Prime Minister, former leader Tun Dr. Mahathir reacted by saying rather sarcastically, "He would make a good Prime Minister of Israel".
On 14 April 2008, Anwar celebrated his official return to the political stage, as his ban from public office expired a decade after he was fired as Deputy Prime Minister. One of the main reasons the opposition seized a third of parliamentary seats and five states in the worst ever showing for the Barisan Nasional coalition that has ruled for half a century, was due to him leading at the helm. A gathering of more than 1,000 supporters greeted Anwar in a rally welcoming his return to politics. Police interrupted Anwar after he had addressed the rally for nearly two hours and called for him to stop the gathering since there was no legal permission for the rally.
On 29 April 2008, after 10 years of absence, he returned to the Parliament, albeit upon invitation as a spouse guest of Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, People's Justice Party and the first female opposition leader in Malaysian Parliament's history.
Permatang Pauh by-election
Anwar Ibrahim was victorious in the Permatang Pauh by-election held on 26 August 2008. Muhammad Muhammad TaibMuhammad Muhammad Taib
Tan Sri Muhammad bin Haji Muhammad Taib is the former Rural and Regional Development Minister. He is also the United Malays National Organisation information chief and former Menteri Besar of Selangor...
, information chief of the UMNO, stated: "Yes of course we have lost . . . we were the underdogs going into this race." Anwar won by a large majority against Arif Shah Omar Shah of the Barisan Nasional coalition, according to Election Commission officials. Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
reported "Anwar Ibrahim has won with a majority of 16,210 votes"; according to news website Malaysiakini (http://www.malaysiakini.com), Anwar won 26,646 votes, while the government's Arif Omar won 10,436 votes. People's Justice Party spokeswoman Ginie Lim told the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
: "We won already. We are far ahead."
Final results announced by the Election Commission revealed that Anwar Ibrahim won 31,195 of the estimated 47,000 votes cast in the district, while Arif Shah Omar Shah received 15,524 votes and a third candidate had 92 votes.
On 28 August 2008, Anwar, dressed in a dark blue traditional Malay outfit and black "songkok" hat, took the oath at the main chamber of Parliament house in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, as MP for Permatang Pauh
Permatang Pauh
Permatang Pauh is a town in Seberang Perai, the hinterland portion of the island-state of Penang, Malaysia. Permatang Pauh is now led by Anwar Ibrahim who is the Member of Parliament for Permatang Pauh....
at 10.03 am before Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia. He formally declared Anwar the leader of the 3-party opposition alliance. With his daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar
Nurul Izzah Anwar
Nurul Izzah binti Anwar is a Malaysian politician from Parti Keadilan Rakyat , and is the current Member of Parliament for Lembah Pantai. She is the daughter of Anwar Ibrahim, a former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and the current de facto opposition leader and of the PKR...
, also a parliamentarian, Anwar announced: "I'm glad to be back after a decade. The prime minister has lost the mandate of the country and the nation." At that time Anwar needed 30 government lawmakers to defect to the Opposition in order to form the next government.
Member of Parliament
Petition against Najib Razak
Anwar continued to attack Najib first day as prime minister, stating he found inconsistencies in the latter's decision to release 13 Internal Security ActInternal Security Act (Malaysia)
The Internal Security Act 1960 is a preventive detention law in force in Malaysia. The legislation was enacted after Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957. The ISA allows for detention without trial or criminal charges under limited, legally defined circumstances...
detainees. He said as long as the ISA existed, Barisan Nasional could still detain citizens at will.
Struggle to assemble a majority coalition
Anwar has already missed several deadlines he himself set for the transfer of power, each of which came and went: the most recent was Tuesday 16 September 2008. Anwar said he would need more time, and the recalibration of his message has not gone unnoticed: Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak chose that day to initiate a broadband internet program Anwar opposes, saying that he had not doubted that the government would still be in office on 16 September. Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi too pointed out that Anwar had missed his own deadline, and dismissed his claim to have secured the defection of 30 MPs.By 25 September Anwar had still not amassed enough votes, creating doubts for Malaysians about whether he was really ready to take power, particularly in light of his failure to meet his own 16 September deadline for the transition of power. In the interim, UMNO had its own party meeting to broker Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's step down from power in June 2009, a year earlier than previously promised
On 24 October 2008, Anwar admitted problems with his stalled bid to topple the UMNO's majority, saying that Pakatan Rakyat is running out of options to create a majority. His "credibility among ordinary Malaysians has been somewhat dented after Sept 16 and the new promise of forming the Government has not generated the sort of anticipation or excitement as before." Media within the country have taken an increasingly hostile view towards Anwar's protestations and failed threats to assemble a majority government.
On 30 March 2010, Anwar Ibrahim alleged in the Dewan Rakyat
Dewan Rakyat
The Dewan Rakyat is the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. All bills must usually be passed by both the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara , before they are given Royal Assent by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong...
the 1Malaysia was mirrored after “One Israel
One Israel
One Israel was an alliance of the Labor Party, Meimad and Gesher created to run for the 1999 Knesset elections.-Background:One Israel was formed by Labor leader Ehud Barak in the run-up to the 1999 elections with the aim of making Labor appear more centrist and to reduce its secularist and elitist...
” concept and designed by Mindteams Sdn Bhd, a branch in Malaysia of Apco Worldwide, an international public relations company engaged by the Malaysian government that also created the One Israel concept in 1999 for then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government....
. Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...
government has claimed it was false and its lawmakers have tabled a motion to censure Anwar for misleading the Parliament over his 1Malaysia-One Israel allegations which was passed by the Parliament on 22 April 2010.
Political Conspiracy
At the UMNO General Assembly, a book, 50 Dalil Kenapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Jadi PM ("50 Reasons Why Anwar Cannot Become Prime Minister") was circulated containing graphic allegations as well as accusations of corruption against Anwar. The book was written by Khalid Jafri, an ex-editor of the government-controlled newspaper Utusan Malaysia
Utusan Malaysia
Utusan Malaysia is a Malay language pro-government newspaper in Malaysia. First published in Jawi, the newspaper is now published in romanised letters...
and former editor-in-chief of a failed magazine, Harian National. Anwar obtained a court injunction to prevent further distribution of the book and filed a lawsuit against the author for defamation. Police charged the author of the book with malicious publishing of false news. Among the allegations in the book was that Anwar is homosexual. The police were instructed to investigate the veracity of the claims. In what the Sydney Morning Herald termed a "blatantly political fix-up", Anwar was charged with sodomy, convicted and given a 15-year prison sentence.
In 1999, Anwar brought suit against Prime Minister Mahathir for defamation for allegedly uttering accusations of immoral acts and calling Anwar a homosexual at a news conference in Malaysia.
This verdict was partially overturned in 2004, resulting in Anwar's release from prison. The original author of the book died in 2005 of complications from diabetes but not before the High Court found that he had committed libel and awarded Anwar millions of ringgit in compensation. The Federal Court on 8 March 2010 ruled that the 1998 dismissal of Anwar from his Cabinet posts by Mahathir was constitutional and valid, meaning Anwar had failed in his bid to challenge his sacking.
Release from prison
On 2 September 2004, a panel of three judges of the Federal Court (Malaysia's highest court) overturned the sodomy conviction by 2 to 1, finding contradictions in the prosecution's case.Anwar completed his term for corruption after his sentence was being reduced for good behaviour. Although the point was by now moot, an appeal on the corruption charges was heard on 6 September 2004. Under Malaysian law a person is banned from political activities for five years after the end of his sentence. Success in this appeal would have allowed him to return to politics immediately. On 7 September, the court agreed to hear Anwar's appeal. However, on 15 September, the of Court of Appeal ruled unanimously that its previous decision to uphold a High Court ruling that found Anwar guilty was in order, relegating Anwar to the sidelines of Malaysian politics until 14 April 2008. The only way for Anwar to be freed from this stricture would have been for him to receive a pardon from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957 when the Federation of Malaya gained independence....
.
New allegations of sodomy
On 29 June 2008, online news portal Malaysiakini
Malaysiakini
Malaysiakini is a political news website published in English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil. Since its launch on November 20, 1999, it has been widely considered to be one of the leading non-government owned paid-news agencies in Malaysia. Compete.com estimates that Malaysiakini now attracts over...
reported that an aide of Anwar Ibrahim had lodged a police report claiming that he had been sodomised by Anwar. The news has since been updated with reports that SMS messages are being distributed claiming that the person who made the report is Anwar's aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who was arrested and allegedly forced to make a false confession. The same text message also claimed the possibility of Anwar being arrested. Anwar has said that the possibility of a prison sentence as a result of these allegations could be seen as an attempt to remove leadership and transference of power issues caused by his growing support and by-election victories. He also reaffirms his innocence and cites proof in the form of medical reports.
Hidden sex tape allegation
On 21 March 2011 a sex video appeared which claimed to feature Anwar Ibrahim. A day after that, Anwar Ibrahim declined his involvement in the incident and filed a police complaint. The police are currently conducting investigations against a trio of men dubbed the Datuk T trio, who screened the sex video in the first place. They are former Malacca chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby ChikRahim Thamby Chik
Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Chik is a former vice-president of the United Malays National Organization. He was aligned with Dr. Mahathir during the 1987 UMNO General Assembly. He was the chief minister of Malacca from 1982 to 1994....
, businessman Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah
Shazryl Eskay Abdullah
Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah is a prominent Malaysian businessman who rose to national prominence when he was identified as one of 3 datuks, codenamed Datuk T , behind the screening of a sex video on 21 March 2011.-Background:Eskay was born in Kedah...
and former Perkasa
Perkasa
Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia or Perkasa is a non-governmental Malay Supremacy organization that was formed by Ibrahim Ali in the aftermath of the Malaysian general elections in 2008...
treasurer Datuk Shuaib Lazim.
Salahuddin Ayub
Salahuddin Ayub
Salahuddin Ayub is a Malaysian politician and is currently the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Kubang Kerian constituency in Kelantan. He is a member of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party in the Pakatan Rakyat opposition coalition...
vice president of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party ruled out suspending ties with Pakatan Rakyat
Pakatan Rakyat
Pakatan Rakyat or PR is an informal Malaysian political coalition. It currently controls four state governments while in opposition to the ruling Barisan Nasional at the federal level....
stating that,"Everything is wrong about the whole scandal. The way the video was revealed was wrong and watching it is wrong. Islam does not accept this,". However the chief of PAS's Ulama council
Ulama
-In Islam:* Ulema, also transliterated "ulama", a community of legal scholars of Islam and its laws . See:**Nahdlatul Ulama **Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama **Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal**Jamiat ul-Ulama -Other:...
has stated that if the video is authentic they would consider reviewing ties with PKR. Lim Kit Siang, head of the Democratic Action Party
DAP
Dap or DAP may refer to:*Dap greeting, a form of greeting in which two people slap and grasp hands briefly; also called a 'fist bump'*Delivered at Place, one of the rules defined by Incoterms 2010 for general modes of transportation...
stated that the Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...
reached "new depths in character assassination" and that the scandal was manufactured just in time for the Sarawak Elections
Sarawak state election, 2011
The tenth Sarawak state election was held on April 16, 2011 after nomination for candidates on April 6. The purpose of the election was to elect 71 representatives to the Sarawak State Assembly...
. Chairman of UMNO's youth wing, Khairy Jamaluddin
Khairy Jamaluddin
Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar is a Malaysian politician, and the son-in-law of former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Since 2008, Khairy has been a member of the Malaysian Parliament representing the constituency of Rembau...
stated that the Barison National never said that it was Anwar in the video, and that it was odd that the opposition automatically took a defensive attitude. Barisan Nasional MP, Abdul Rahman Dahlan
Abdul Rahman Dahlan
Dato' Abdul Rahman Dahlan is a Malaysian politician. He is currently the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Kota Belud constituency in Sabah, representing the United Malay National Organisation party....
stated that the matter should remain personal, and not be used for political purposes. On 4 April, part of the sex clip with a running time of nearly two minutes, was leaked online on anti-PKR blogsites and Youtube. A second part of the sex video was released on Youtube and a pro-UMNO blog website. The police and the government have been criticized for their slow response by the opposition in prosecuting the culprits who showed the sex video.
Remarks on Israel, APCO and 1Malaysia
Anwar has made numerous remarks about a supposed conspiracy among the Malaysian government, APCO (a public relations firm retained by the Malaysian government), Israel, and the United States. Anwar has condemned the Malaysian government for seeking advice from APCO. He claims that the firm is linked to the “murder of Muslims in Palestine.” He further claims to have given proof that APCO is a front for the Israeli government to a disciplinary committee of the Malaysian parliament investigating his comments. On another occasion, Anwar, speaking from the parliament, claimed that the firm was controlled by Jews and working on behalf of the American government to influence Malaysian foreign policy. He further implied that changes in Malaysian foreign policy could only be explained if Jews were manipulating Malaysia for the United States.On 22 April 2010 Anwar was censured by Malaysia's parliament for remarks he made during a press conference in parliament on 30 March 2010. During the press conference, Anwar claimed to have documents linking 1Malaysia, One Israel
One Israel
One Israel was an alliance of the Labor Party, Meimad and Gesher created to run for the 1999 Knesset elections.-Background:One Israel was formed by Labor leader Ehud Barak in the run-up to the 1999 elections with the aim of making Labor appear more centrist and to reduce its secularist and elitist...
, and the public relations firm APCO but refused to allow access to the documents when challenged The Malaysian government and APCO have both strongly denied Anwar's allegations. The censure motion passed by the House of Representatives referred Anwar's case to the Rights and Privileges Committee which will recommend a punishment for approval by the full chamber. Such punishment could include being banned from parliament. However Anwar retaliated against the Malaysian government attacks by producing the two documents to back up his statements and refute the government's denials of links between APCO and 1Malaysia.
In a press conference at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
Anwar made comments about Zionists and "nasty Jews". In the press conference he also stated that, "There are good Jews, there are bad Jews, there are good Muslims and bad Muslims."
In May 2010, B'nai B'rith International, a prominent Jewish human rights organization condemned Anwar in a letter to the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, claiming that Anwar was a "purveyor of anti-Jewish hatred" and asked the American government to suspend all contact with Anwar.
In Malaysia, Anwar has often been mocked for having "Jewish friends." Najib's mentor and predecessor, Mahathir, even went so far as to say Anwar "would make a good prime minister for Israel." In return, Anwar seized Najib's hiring of APCO as a chance to issue inflammatory remarks on the firm's supposed ties to Israel.
Personal life
Anwar was born in Cherok Tok KunCherok Tok Kun
Cheruk To'kun is a small town in Penang, Malaysia. Located in eastern of Bukit Mertajam Province situated in the mainland side of Penang state, northern part of Malaysia. It has few interesting sites as mountain climbing and tracking near the To'kun Dam which name "Hutan Lipur". St...
, a village on the mainland side of the northern Malaysian state of Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
, to an Indian Muslim hospital porter, Ibrahim Abdul Rahman (later to join politics and retire as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health) and Che Yan, a housewife (and later UMNO politician). He undertook his secondary education at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar
Malay College Kuala Kangsar
The Malay College Kuala Kangsar is a residential school in Malaysia. It is an all-boys and all-Malay school located in the royal town of Kuala Kangsar, Perak...
. He was educated at the University of Malaya, where he read Malay Studies.
He is married to Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Yang Berbahagia Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is a Malaysian politician. She is currently the president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat and she was the Member of Parliament for Permatang Pauh from 1999 to 2008. She was also the Leader of Opposition in Dewan Rakyat from March 2008 until 31 July 2008...
and they have four daughters and a son. His eldest daughter, Nurul Izzah Anwar
Nurul Izzah Anwar
Nurul Izzah binti Anwar is a Malaysian politician from Parti Keadilan Rakyat , and is the current Member of Parliament for Lembah Pantai. She is the daughter of Anwar Ibrahim, a former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and the current de facto opposition leader and of the PKR...
, is also a member of Parliament. In 2010 Anwar underwent two separate LASIK
LASIK
LASIK or Lasik , commonly referred to simply as laser eye surgery, is a type of refractive surgery for correcting myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism...
operations which rendered him with 20-20 vision, one of which was to treat an eye injury sustained when he was beaten by the then-chief police inspector in 1998.
Publications and speeches
- "Radical Islam in Southeast Asia" (password required) Far Eastern Economic Review, November 2006, 60th Anniversary Issue. Published in ArabicArabic languageArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
and in al-Bayane al-Youm (MoroccoMoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
) on 1 January 2007. - "Accountability and the Future of Freedom" Islamica Magazine, Issue #16, Winter 2006.
- "Universal Values and Muslim Democracy" Journal of Democracy, July 2005. Published in Arabic
- "Political Accountability and the Moral Imperative" Accountability Forum, Issue 7, Fall 2005
- "On Shah Wali Allah's Socio-Political Thought and Ibn Hazm's Kitab al-Fasl fi al-Milal wa al-Ahwa' wa al-Nihal." In Islamic Studies, Vol. 43, No. 2, 371–377.
- "The Quest for Social Justice" Global Agenda Magazine, January 2005
Op-ed
- "A Test for the West in Turkey" Washington Post, 6 July 2007, A15. Published in Arabic
- "Seeing the Bigger Picture" Accountability21 December 22, 2006. Published in Arabic
- "Malaysian Mudslinging" Wall Street Journal, 3 October 2006
- "Cultivating the Seeds of Democracy" Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, 25 March 2006 - "Whither East Asia" Wall Street Journal, 15 December 2005
- "Destructive Engagement" Asian Wall Street Journal, 15 June 2005
- "Democratic Contagion Hits ASEAN Countries" New Perspectives Quarterly, Spring 2005
- "A passion for freedom" The World in 2004, The EconomistThe EconomistThe Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
- "Who Hijacked Islam?" Time 8 October 2001
Speeches
- "Anwar Ibrahim on Egypt and Tunisia" Asia SocietyAsia SocietyThe Asia Society is a non-profit organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States and around the world Hong Kong, Manila, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, and Melbourne...
, 8 February 2011, New York City - "The Central Role of Governance and Accountability in Achieving Development Goals in the 21st century" Inter-American Development Bank Forum on the Americas, 7 December 2006, Washington DC.
- “The Challenges of Islam and Democracy” University of ChicagoUniversity of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, 8 November 2006. - "Democracy and the Muslim World" Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, 11 October 2006. - "Democracy, Human Rights, and the Destiny of Southeast Asia" Severyns-Ravenholt Lecture at the University of WashingtonUniversity of WashingtonUniversity of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, 10 October 2006 - "Islam & Democracy" Center for Democratic Institutions Annual Address, Canberra, Australia, 20 July 2006.
- "Between Tyranny and Freedom: A Brief Voyage with the Bard" World Shakespeare Congress, Brisbane, Australia, 19 July 2006
- "Accountability and the Future of Freedom" Presidential Fellows Lecture at the World Bank in Washington DC 19 June 2006
- "Islam and Democracy" Keynote address at World Movement for Democracy Fourth Assembly, Istanbul, Turkey, 2 April 2006
- "Freedom or Sharia" Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, 30 January 2006 - "The Future of Muslim Democracy" 1 December 2005
- "Examining the Challenges of Islam and Democracy" Kennedy School of Government at Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, 7 November 2005 - "The United States and the Muslim World" Asia Society Keynote Address delivered at SAIS in Washington DC, 18 April 2005
- "Between Force and Persuasion" Keynote Address at Inaugural Session of the Conference "Inter-Civilisational Dialogue in a Globalising World", New Delhi, India, 8 April 2005
- Anwar Ibrahim's speeches from 1990s posted at The Institute for Policy Research
- UNESCO General Council On the occasion of Anwar Ibrahim's election to the presidency of the 25th Session, Paris, 17 October 1989
Media and news
Interviews- "Interview with Anwar Ibrahim" The DiplomatThe DiplomatThe Diplomat is a Tokyo-based, online current affairs magazine covering politics, society and culture in the Asia-Pacific. The magazine, originally a bi-monthly print magazine, was founded by David Llewellyn-Smith, Minh Bui Jones and Sung Lee in 2001. The first edition was published in April 2002,...
, 9 September 2009 - "A Talk with Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim" BusinessWeekBusinessWeekBloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...
, 10 April 2007. - "Anwar’s ‘new’ agenda" The Star, 8 April 2007.
- "Malaysian Pledges to Defy Ban on His Return to Politics" Washington Post, Page A14, 5 April 2007.
- "Anwar Ibrahim: An Optimist of Freedom and Democracy" The Jakarta Post, 31 January 2007.
- "Islam and Democracy" A discussion with Saad el-Din Ibrahim" "One-on-One" hosted by Riz Khan, Al-Jazeera English, 30 November 2006
- Bloomberg News Interview with Kathleen Hayes Bloomberg TV, 29 November 2006 "(Print article)"
- "Saying no to corruption" Fortune Magazine, 23 October 2006
- "Anwar returns: the public reinvention of Malaysia's former deputy PM" Radio Free Australia, 24 July 2006
- "Anwar bin Ibrahim's political rollercoaster" Worldview Magazine, Summer 2006
- "Islam in Southeast Asia" Interview by Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, 7 April 2006
- Foreign Exchange interview hosted by Fareed Zakaria (Scroll to middle of page for transcript) 4 November 2005
- Interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty From the "Forum 2000" Meeting in Prague, 11 October 2005
- "HardTALK" with Stephen Sackur, 2005
Articles
- "Democracy for Muslims?" The Stanford DailyThe Stanford DailyThe Stanford Daily is the student-run, independent daily newspaper serving Stanford University. The Daily is distributed throughout campus and the surrounding community of Palo Alto, California, United States. It has published since the University was founded in 1892.The paper publishes weekdays...
, 12 October 2006 - "Anwar's return" The Economist, 24 August 2006
- "An ode to democracy delivered by Anwar Ibrahim" UQ News Online, 27 July 2006
- "Anwar Ibrahim a possible candidate for UN Secretary-General" ABC NewsABC News (Australia)ABC News is a national news service produced by the News and Current Affairs division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation - the division is responsible for all newsgathering and production of news output for ABC television, radio and online services...
, 19 July 2006 - "Anwar Ibrahim on comeback trail" Al-Jazeera English, 16 March 2006
- "Voice of moderate Islam wins support" The Sunday TimesThe Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
, 2 October 2005 - "Anwar Ibrahim asked to apply for top UN job" Sydney Morning Herald 28 June 2006
- "An Unlikely but Eager Voice Between Islam and the West" Washington Post 2 September 2005
- Asean News Network 22 September 2004 Malaysia's Ruling Party Members Urged to Shun Anwar Ibrahim.
- "Anwar Ibrahim free at last" Economist.com Global Agenda Magazine, 7 September 2004
- "Anwar Ibrahim's long shadow" The Economist, 3 April 2003
External links
Home pages
Affiliations and appointments
- Senior Fellow in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University,Washington D.C.
- International Advisory Board, International Crisis Group
- Honorary President, AccountAbility
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