Malaysia: Anwar ambitions

Malaysian de-facto opposition leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, released from jail on sodomy charges since August 7, is due to report to the authorities next Monday as part of the terms of his bail. Previous such allegations against the politician -- which he claims are politically motivated -- have been dismissed, and he retains the confidence he showed after a triumphant election victory in March. Indeed, if a court on Tuesday invalidates a by-election result won by his party, he has expressed a desire to stand for office.

His hope is to unseat the ruling UNMO party and Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi in the next few years, bringing together diverse opposition forces on a banner of welfarist policies and revising the country’s political quotas, which give preferential treatment to ethnic Malays. States under opposition control have made efforts to put these policies into practice, straining relations with the central government over issues of competence. However, as Anwar’s arrest showed, attempts to unseat the status quo risk a backlash, and patchy turnout at protests in his support suggest that rapid escalation -- in the face of severe emergency legislation -- may not play to the opposition’s strengths.