Anwar Ibrahim wins with ‘style, with big majorities’

Comeback part of plan for the politician to succeed current prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad

The new Port Dickson member of parliament Anwar Ibrahim described his victory in the parliamentary by-election with a comfortable majority on Saturday (Oct 13) as beyond his expectations.

The Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition gained 70 per cent of the popular vote, surpassing the 48 per cent garnered in the 14th General Election (GE14) for the Port Dickson seat, he said.

Former Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim has won a byelection with a landslide victory in a grand political comeback that will help him prepare for his eventual takeover from the current prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad.

Anwar was designated as Mahathir’s successor after the two men set aside a bitter feud and joined hands to capture a stunning victory in May’s general election.

Anwar could not participate in the election due to a sodomy conviction, a charge that he alleged was politically motivated. He was freed and received a royal pardon days after the polls.

The Malaysian election commission said Anwar received 31,016 votes for the parliamentary seat in the southern coastal town of Port Dickson, defeating six other candidates. His closest rival secured only 7,456 votes.

Anwar said his huge margin of victory was unexpected and called it a “convincing” win. “This to my mind is an important milestone, a vote of confidence for the government and the reform agenda, and the prime minister personally,” he said.

Anwar, who will be sworn in as a lawmaker in parliament on Monday, reiterated his pledge to focus on parliamentary reforms. Once a high-flying member of the former ruling coalition, Anwar was convicted of homosexual sodomy and corruption after a power struggle with Mahathir, who was prime minister for 22 years until 2003.

He was freed in 2004, but once again convicted for sodomy in 2015, charges that he said were concocted to destroy his political career.

Mahathir, the world’s oldest leader at 93, has said he expects to be in office for at least two years and will keep his promise to hand over power to Anwar.

“Attention should focus on what [Anwar] would do in parliament and his relationship with those in government,” said Bridget Welsh, a political science lecturer and south-east Asia expert at John Cabot University in Rome.