A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PM’S CAREER

Anwar Ibrahim, who was born on August 10, 1947, made a name for himself as an Islamic youth leader by the mid-1970s. He enjoyed political growth under PM Mahathir Mohamad, and joined the ruling coalition, the United Malays National Organisation, in 1982. By 1991, he had the portfolio of finance minister; by 1993, he had become deputy PM. Then, in 1998, he had a falling out with his mentor. He was arrested and charged with sodomy and corruption. The next year, Anwar was jailed for six years for abuse of power.

By 2000, he had a consecutive nine-year term on a sodomy charge. He would only get out of jail in 2004. In 2008, Anwar returned to parliament as leader of the opposition only to face allegations of sodomy once again. In 2015, was jailed over these charges. It took ten years for Anwar to re-enter the political fray, when he and Mahathir buried the hatchet. Mahathir promised to seek a royal pardon for Anwar and hand him the PM’s job if the coalition succeeded. And Anwar was pardoned and released within a week of Mahathir’s coalition winning. But the premiership proved elusive, and the duo had another falling out. Then came 2022, and Anwar becames PM.