New day dawns for Malaysia
Anwar Ibrahim is 10th PM, to prove support in December parliament si ing
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, 75, was sworn in yesterday as Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister, ending six days of political uncertainty due to the country’s first hung parliament.
The Pakatan Harapan chairman and Tambun MP took his oath of office, loyalty and secrecy before the Yang di-Pertuan Agong AlSultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara here at 5.06pm.
It was witnessed by, among others, Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also Umno president, Parti Amanah Negara president Mohamad Sabu and DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke.
Soon a er he was sworn in, he told his inaugural press conference as PM that the first order of business at the Dewan Rakyat si ing on Dec 19 is to move a vote of confidence to prove his support.
“I want to explain here that we have already fixed the Parliament session on December 19, and the first motion, apart from me taking my oath, is the motion from the government for a vote of confidence.
“So, for me, there is no reason to worry about the legitimacy that is there,” he said.
Perikatan Nasional chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had disputed his appointment, insisting that he instead had the support of the majority when first summoned by the King on Tuesday.
Anwar, who is Parti Keadilan Rakyat president, explained that his unity government was formed with the participation of several coalition parties, and it sought to ensure the stability of the country and its economy as well as uphold the spirit of the Federal Constitution.
He pointed out that he had the support of the three largest coalition blocs which were Pakatan Harapan (PH), Barisan Nasional (BN) and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
PH, he said, was the largest with 82 MPs while BN has 30 and GPS, 23.
Anwar stressed that the question of stability within the government was not an issue as it also had the participation of Parti Warisan, Muda and Parti Bangsa Malaysia.
“I would like to stress in the first audience with the people that I am Prime Minister for all, representing all Malaysians, with an assurance of ensuring harmony among the people, and that I am ready to accept the participation of others (political parties) to strengthen stability in the country,” he said.
He also stressed that his government will uphold the Federal Constitution, namely the status of the Bumiputera, the Malay language, the religion of Islam, and the Malay Rulers.
However, he said they will not compromise on ensuring and recognising the rights, citizenship and opportunities of every race, region and religion in the country.
“No Malaysian should be le to feel that they are ignored in any way, none should feel marginalised under my administration.”
On the post of deputy prime minister, Anwar said it will likely come from the stronger component coalitions.
“The DPM position will come from stronger component coalitions and that will be PH, the other one is BN, and between Sabah and Sarawak it will be GPS as it is the stronger one,” he said.
When asked if he will appoint someone from BN who has ongoing court cases, he said he needed time to discuss the ma er.
“This is an issue which was raised...as it will involve a unity government. Give us room to discuss this,” said Anwar.
He did not reveal his choice of DPM candidates, adding that he will inform the press once he has made a decision.
He also stressed that his immediate priority would be to restore Malaysia’s economy.
“I am grateful that today and before this, the situation and confidence of investors had changed. The ringgit strengthened and the stock market is reinvigorated.
“Let us now focus on the economy and do whatever it takes to revive so that the welfare of the rakyat, particularly the poor and the marginalised will be protected,” he added.
During a question-and-answer session with reporters, Anwar also stressed on his earlier promise to forgo his prime minister’s salary.
“I had announced that the first step to gain back the trust of the rakyat, so that they don’t view ministers and leaders, irrespective of party, irrespective of faith, all of them as being those who only think of salaries, interests, contracts, shares.
“Therefore, I chose to reject the salary of a prime minister,” he added.
No Malaysian should be le to feel that they are ignored in any way, none should feel marginalised under my administration.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim took his oath of office as the 10th prime minister of Malaysia yesterday, after having been what many describe as the longest prime minister-inwaiting – almost 25 years.
The 75-year-old chairman of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and president of PKR is no stranger to national administration as he was the deputy prime minister prior to his sacking in 1998 and imprisonment later on charges he said were politically-motivated attempts to end his career.
Anwar had captured the Tambun parliamentary seat in the just-concluded 15th general election (GE15), leading PH to win 82 seats in an election that ended in a hung parliament that was resolved by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah following deliberation with the Malay Rulers.
The new prime minister, known for his oratory skills and his ability to keep his audience spellbound, was born on Aug 10, 1947, in Cheruk Tok Kun, Bukit Mertajam, in Penang.
He received his primary education at Sekolah Kebangsaan Cheruk Tok Kun and Sekolah Stowell before entering the prestigious Malay College Kuala Kangsar and pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Malay Studies at Universiti Malaya.
Having been active as an Islamist student leader during his university days, Anwar founded the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia or ABIM and served as its president until 1982.
At the same time, he was also a member of the Asian Youth Council, World Youth Council and the Asia Pacific Regional Committee of the World Assembly of Youth.
In 1982, Anwar accepted an invitation from the then 4th Prime Minister (PM) Datuk
Seri (now Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad to join Umno and his government.
He was first elected as a Member of Parliament for Permatang Pauh in the same year and advanced swiftly with his appointment to the Malaysian administration as a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. Subsequently, he served as the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports (1983); Minister of Agriculture (1984) and Minister of Education (1986).
Also in Dr Mahathir’s administration, Anwar was entrusted with a senior minister’s post, namely Minister of Finance, beginning 1991.
In 1993, he was appointed as the deputy prime minister.
During his service in the government, Anwar also made Malaysia proud when he was named Asia’s Best Finance Minister in 1996.
However, on Sept 2, 1998, Anwar was sacked from the government administration and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment in 1999.
Being in jail did not dampen the fighting spirit of Anwar as he began promoting and championing the reformation agenda through his new party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).
Anwar was released from prison in 2004 but he could not return to politics as the law prohibited him from participating in politics for five years from the date of his release.
In 2008, Anwar finally returned to Parliament after winning the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in a by-election which was called after his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, vacated the seat to enable him to contest and become an MP.
Anwar successfully defended the seat in the 13th General Election (GE13) in 2013.
However, in 2014, Anwar was sent back to jail, this time for five years, causing him to be disqualified as the MP for Permatang Pauh yet again.
Following a pact made with Dr Mahathir (who quit Umno in 2016), PH won the 14th general election, dubbed the mother of all elections, in 2018, thus ending the six-decade rule of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.
Anwar was granted a full pardon by the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V, which enabled him to return to politics.
At the PKR National Congress on Nov 18, 2018, Anwar was elected PKR president after Dr Wan Azizah resigned from the post.
In the same month, Anwar contested a by-election for the Port Dickson parliamentary seat and won with a 23,560-vote majority.
The political pact between Anwar and Dr Mahathir, who became the country’s 7th Prime Minister and led the PH government, did not last long due to a power transition issue and the so-called ‘Sheraton Move’ of some MPs withdrawing support resulted in the collapse of the PH government.
Anwar became the PH chairman after Dr Mahathir resigned as the prime minister and chairman of Bersatu, a PH component, on Feb 24, 2020, but the former remained as the Opposition Leader during the tenure of the 8th PM Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the 9th PM Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Under Anwar’s leadership, PH, which comprises PKR, DAP, Amanah and the United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (Upko), as well as ally Muda garnered the highest number of 82 parliamentary seats in GE15 that resulted in a hung parliament.