Anwar Ibrahim

For the Malaysian footballer of the same name, see Anwar Ibrahim (footballer).
In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Ibrahim is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Anwar. The word "bin" or "binti"/"binte" means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.

Yang Amat Berhormat Dato' Seri
Anwar Ibrahim
SPMK SSSK SSPJ SPCM SSAP SPNS DUPN SPDK DGSM DMPN KGCR NPk MP
انور بن ابراهيم‎
Anwar in 2024
10th Prime Minister of Malaysia
Incumbent
Assumed office
24 November 2022
Monarchs
Deputy
Preceded byIsmail Sabri Yaakob
12th and 16th Leader of the Opposition
In office
18 May 2020 – 24 November 2022
MonarchAbdullah
Prime MinisterIsmail Sabri Yaakob
Preceded byIsmail Sabri Yaakob
Succeeded byHamzah Zainudin
In office
28 August 2008 – 16 March 2015
Monarchs
Prime Minister
Preceded byWan Azizah Wan Ismail
Succeeded byWan Azizah Wan Ismail
2nd Chairman of Pakatan Harapan
Incumbent
Assumed office
14 May 2020
PresidentWan Azizah Wan Ismail
Preceded byMahathir Mohamad
2nd President of the People's Justice Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
17 November 2018
Deputy
Preceded byWan Azizah Wan Ismail
7th Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
In office
1 December 1993 – 2 September 1998
Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad
Preceded byAbdul Ghafar Baba
Succeeded byAbdullah Ahmad Badawi
Ministerial portfolios
1983–1984Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports
1984–1986Minister of Agriculture
1986–1991Minister of Education
1991–1998Minister of Finance
2022–presentMinister of Finance
Parliamentary offices
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Tambun
Incumbent
Assumed office
19 November 2022
Preceded byAhmad Faizal Azumu
Majority3,736 (2.99%)
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Port Dickson
In office
15 October 2018 – 19 November 2022
Preceded byDanyal Balagopal Abdullah
Succeeded byAminuddin Harun
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Permatang Pauh
In office
28 August 2008 – 16 March 2015[1]
Preceded byWan Azizah Wan Ismail
Succeeded byWan Azizah Wan Ismail
In office
29 March 1982 – 14 April 1999
Preceded byZabidi Ali
Succeeded byWan Azizah Wan Ismail
Personal details
Born
Anwar bin Ibrahim

(1947-08-10) 10 August 1947 (age 77)
Cherok Tok Kun, Bukit Mertajam, Crown Colony of Penang[2]
Political party
Other political
affiliations
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1980)​
Children6, including Nurul Izzah
Parents
Residence(s)Seri Perdana, Putrajaya (official)
SL3, Bandar Sungai Long, Selangor (private)
Education
OccupationPolitician
Signature
Websiteanwaribrahim.com
Anwar Ibrahim's voice 
Anwar talking about Malaysia and multiculturalism.
Recorded June 8, 2023
This article is part of
a series about
Anwar Ibrahim
  • Leader of the Opposition
  • Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia

Anwar bin Ibrahim (Jawi: انور بن ابراهيم‎, IPA: Malay pronunciation: [anwar ɪbrahɪm] ⓘ; born 10 August 1947) is a Malaysian politician who has been the 10th and current Prime Minister of Malaysia since 2022.[3] He served as the 12th and 16th Leader of the Opposition from 2008 to 2015, and again from 2020 to 2022. He has been the chairman of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition since 2020, the second President of the People's Justice Party (PKR) since 2018 and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tambun since November 2022. He also served as Deputy Prime Minister and in many other Cabinet positions in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad from 1982 to his removal in 1998.

A University of Malaya graduate, Anwar served as president of the National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students as well as Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) or Muslim Youth Union of Malaysia[4] before joining the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) then the dominant party in the long-ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. Anwar held several cabinet positions in successive governments in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the deputy prime minister as well as finance minister during the 1990s and was prominent in Malaysia's response to the 1997 Asian financial crisis.[5] In 1998, he was removed from all posts by prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and went on to spearhead the Reformasi movement against the government. Anwar was jailed in April 1999 on charges of corruption and sodomy[6] until his release in 2004 after his conviction was overturned. He made a comeback as leader of the opposition from 2008 to 2015. He merged opposition parties into the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition, which unsuccessfully contested in the 2008 and 2013 general elections. He disputed the results of the 2013 elections and led a protest in response.

In 2014, Anwar's attempt to become Selangor head of government in the 2014 Kajang Move led to a nine-month political crisis, which ended when he was sentenced to another five years in prison after a second sodomy conviction in 2015.[7] While still in prison, Anwar re-joined Mahathir Mohamad in the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition in absentia, which went on to win the 2018 general election. Mahathir outlined a plan for Anwar to take over from himself as prime minister after an unspecified interim period.[8] Anwar received a royal pardon from Yang di-Pertuan Agong Muhammad V[9] and was released from prison in May 2018.[10][11] He returned to parliament in the 2018 Port Dickson by-election while his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail served as the deputy prime Minister in the PH administration. The collapse of the coalition during the 2020–22 Malaysian political crisis led to the new Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition under Muhyiddin Yassin being sworn in and Anwar becoming leader of the opposition for the second time in May 2020.

After leading Pakatan Harapan to win a plurality of seats at the 2022 Malaysian general election, Anwar was sworn in as the tenth Prime Minister of Malaysia on 24 November 2022.[12] On 2 December 2022, Anwar appointed various members of parliament from Pakatan Harapan, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), and UMNO to serve as ministers in the cabinet of the newly formed unity government. Anwar named himself as the Finance Minister.[13] During his tenure, he and his government faced criticism for implementing numerous conservative policies, as well as the discharge not amounting to acquittal of current Malaysian deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who faced corruption charges.[14] Moreover, former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak also saw his prison sentence halved and fine reduced during Anwar's tenure, sparking further controversy.[15]

Anwar, referred to as a liberal reformer and intellectual, has advocated for Islamic democracy and has stated he hopes Malaysia will become an example of democratic practices in the Muslim world. He supports the Islamic concept of Ummah as a framework for democracy in Muslim countries and calls for judicial independence, good governance and rejection of authoritarianism. While he supported initially supported affirmative action policies for Malays due to concerns about the dominance of Malaysian Chinese in businesses as a youth activist in the 1960s, after leaving prison he considered "Ketuanan Melayu" a major problem and called for transitioning to "affirmative-action policies premised on need instead of race" and providing government support to those living in poverty. Many people and scholars have described him as a "uniting figure" for the opposition in Malaysia during his imprisonment and trials. As prime minister, he has emphasized implementing measures such as diesel subsidy cuts for fiscal responsibility.[16]

  1. ^ "Anwar disqualified as MP since Mar 16, says speaker". The Malaysian Times. 1 April 2015. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Anwar Ibrahim". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference PRU15 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Ooi, Keat Gin (2004). Southeast Asia: a historical encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1-57607-770-5. OCLC 54528945.
  5. ^ "Anwar Ibrahim – London Speaker Bureau Asia". Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Malaysia: Charges against Anwar politically motivated". Amnesty International. 6 August 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  7. ^ Kumar, Kamles. "Is it time for Anwar Ibrahim to step aside?". Aljazeera. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  8. ^ "Malaysia's political turmoil: everything you need to know". The Guardian. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  9. ^ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (11 May 2018). "Malaysia: Mahathir Mohamad says Anwar Ibrahim to be given royal pardon". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  10. ^ Chandran, Nyshka (16 May 2018). "Jailed opposition icon seen as Malaysia's future leader is released from custody". CNBC. Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  11. ^ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (16 May 2018). "Malaysia: Anwar Ibrahim released from prison". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Malaysia election 2022: Anwar Ibrahim named PM, swearing in at 5pm". South China Morning Post. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Zahid returns as number 2, Anwar keeps finance as he unveils Cabinet". MalaysiaNow. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  14. ^ "High Court grants Zahid discharge not amounting to acquittal in YAB case". The Star. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Malaysia halves ex-PM Najib Razak's jail term in 1MDB corruption scandal". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Malaysian PM Anwar defends cutting diesel subsidies, prioritises public welfare". The Straits Times. 11 June 2024. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 18 June 2024.