The Beginning of the End for Anwar Ibrahim? MAPIM’S RESPOND.

Even if one disagrees with the policies of a political leader, it’s always sad to see their demise. One feature of any Westminster system is that leaders usually fall hard. A former leader, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, governed as Queensland premier for a decade. When his party lost confidence in him, Joh locked himself in the premier’s office suite for a week before he was talked out.
Anwar Ibrahim came into office with many people full of high hopes, but today he appears an isolated and almost broken man, physically.
We don’t know how Anwar Ibrahim’s time as prime minister will actually end. What we do know is that these are the early days of the process of decoupling him from the office he has grown to enjoy. The early signs of Anwar’s demise are already there.
Signs that it is the beginning of the end
On the Facebook page of the YDPA Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, more than 1,000 Facebook users expressed their displeasure with Anwar Ibrahim. At a roundtable session, former Prime Ministers Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, former Deputy Chief Minister of Penang, Prof Dr P. Ramasamy; HINDRAF President, Waytha Moorthy; Kota Bharu Member of Parliament, Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan; former Speaker of the Senate, Tan Sri Rais Yatim and Parti Pejuang Information Chief, Rafique Rashid, asked that Anwar Ibrahim resign as prime minister.
The resignations of Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad as ministers in the Anwar cabinet took Anwar by surprise, even though the challenges against both of them in the PKR elections were ‘managed’ by Anwar. This has fractured the party, while the election of Anwar’s daughter as PKR deputy president led to calls of nepotism.
The announcement of Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Nurul Izzah as the PKR election chiefs led to ridicule, as both lost their parliamentary seats during the last general election.
The announcement of the new sales and service taxes (SST) to commence on July 1 heightened people’s anguish about the current cost of living and insufficient incomes. The move made by Anwar, who is also the finance minister, has led to suggestions that government budgetary policy decisions are made ad hoc.
However, the most important sign that the end of Anwar’s tenure as prime minister is quickly coming to an end is the upcoming civil case, where Yusoff Rawther has accused Anwar of sexual assault. If the affidavits made by Yusoff become public and it is perceived as credible, then Anwar will be in an untenable position as prime minister. This is enough to break Anwar’s claim on the prime ministership, as such an allegation, if shown to be true, makes him morally unfit to hold the office. Anwar’s attempts to stop the trial through claims of immunity are just incriminating. Those ‘in the know’ of what may come out have already moved away from him.
When a government increases censorship, cracks down on freedom of speech and prosecutes those who criticise the leader, are strong indicator that the end of a regime is nearby.
News headlines saying that Anwar has 55% support, the economy is healthy, growth is up, and inflation is down don’t match reality. What the media says about the government isn’t believable anymore.
Everyone was conned when Anwar made his first visit to China and came back claiming he had received RM 170 billon in investment back in 2023. Once bitten, twice shy. Malaysians are not gullible enough to fall for this trick a second time. Some online portals continue to carry ‘goodtime’ stories that things are fine under Anwar. People are not reading and watching RTM and Bernama propaganda, anyone. FMT readership has just fallen into a massive heap since their editorial line became pro-Anwar government.
There are so many apple-polishing commentators, academics, and journalists out there who are trying to tell you how good the Anwar government is. They condemn anyone who criticises Anwar or his government to the point that one day, when there is no more Anwar as prime minister, their own careers as political analysts will be finished, and they will be forgotten.
There are now a lot of pieces in the news saying ‘reformasi is not dead’. Once again, this is trying to make promises to the Rakyat who have lost all trust in Anwar. They know the end is very near.
The end game
Anwar’s cabinet is unworkable now. He doesn’t talk to his deputy prime minister, and many PKR and DAP ministers are just ‘dead weight’ in the cabinet. The reality is that Anwar doesn’t have a workable government anymore.
It’s not easy to correctly predict when and how Anwar will no longer be prime minister. What is sure, he won’t be prime minister leading into the next general election.
There is no chance of there being any vote of no confidence in the parliament, and no one is challenging him as the leader in PKR.
Anwar remains in office at the pleasure of the YDPA. The YDPA can appoint a new prime minister whom it believes has the confidence of the majority of members in the Dewan Rakyat.
Watch closely here. Pleasure can turn into displeasure, and there are other members who can be perceived to have the confidence of the majority of members of the Dewan Rakyat. That’s all that is needed to change the prime minister. Anwar’s supermajority in the Dewan Rakyat is an illusion only. It can be turned very easily.
We know that between the years 2020-2021, this is how prime ministers can be changed. Anwar is seriously concerned. ~ Murray Hunter.