Anwar, 75, is hitting the national campaign trail again, trying to convince Malaysians to vote for him in the Nov. 19 election as he looks to finally fulfill his long-held dream of becoming prime minister.
He was in his element on the stump: joking with supporters as he peppered his speech with Quranic verses and Malay folklore to condemn his rivals and burnish his leadership credentials.
Anwar's alliance faces two other coalitions in the election—one led by incumbent Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and the other by former premier Muhyiddin Yassin. There are several other parties in the running, including one founded by another former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, a factor that is expected to split the votes more than ever before.
But he lacks widespread appeal among majority Malays due to his opposition to affirmative action favoring them and past allegations of sodomy, a crime in Malaysia. Anwar has spent around a decade in jail on sodomy and corruption charges. "Any form of coalition will be a major setback because you are having a coalition with essentially racist or Muslim fanatics," said Anwar. He also ruled out working with friend-turned-foe Mahathir.
Anwar was in prison during the 2018 election on what he says were politically-motivated sodomy charges, and later pardoned.
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Once again, Malaysia’s Anwar bids to become prime ministerAnwar, 75, is hitting the national campaign trail again, trying to convince Malaysians to vote for him in the Nov. 19 election as he looks to finally fulfill his long-held dream of becoming prime minister.
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