Noor Amin Ahmad

In November 2022, Malaysia’s king appointed Anwar Ibrahim as the country’s prime minister, after an inconclusive general election in which no single party scored the majority necessary to rule alone. The unexpected outcome capped off Anwar’s decades-long trek through the wilderness of political opposition, which saw the 75-year-old endure two spells in prison on politically motivated sodomy charges.

Few know the new Malaysian leader as well as his biographer Noor Amin Ahmad, who worked with Anwar in numerous capacities, including as an MP for Anwar’s People’s Justice Party (PKR) from 2018 to 2022. The first volume of Amin’s planned six-volume biography of the Malaysian leader was published last year, covering Anwar’s early years from his birth to the age of 18.

Amin recently spoke with The Diplomat’s Southeast Asia Editor Sebastian Strangio about what we can expect from Anwar’s government, the impact of his family background and early life in Penang, the challenges he will face in overcoming Malay identity politics, and the role of Islamic values in Anwar’s reformist politics.

What prompted you to undertake such an ambitious biography of Anwar Ibrahim?

Since my serious involvement in politics, it has been my aim to fully understand the leader that I support: his personality, upbringing, and more importantly his struggles for our country.

Back in 2014, I was quite fortunate to be offered a job to support him in my role as manager of the Center for Reform (Diwan Reformasi), which was launched by Anwar to promote reforms, democracy, and social initiatives. So when he was imprisoned in 2015, although I had lost my job, within me, I felt a strong calling to do something significant not only so that people will continue to remember Anwar and his struggle, but more importantly for people to get to know him, as a person, a good human being, and as the inspiring and visionary leader that he is.

I feel that much of this sad story of injustice in our modern history is not known to the new generation, and so they can’t really appreciate it as a cornerstone of Malaysia’s ever changing political landscape until now.

So I began with a series of articles about Anwar on the party’s newspapers. I completed 23 articles that equated to around 150 pages of a book. It was the story of Anwar Ibrahim from when he was born until the night of September 20, 1998, when he was taken away from his family and supporters, beaten while he was still handcuffed (which a professional medical officer mentioned could have killed him), stripped naked, and many more uncommon practices that inflamed a foul cry toward the establishment at that time – and henceforth began the campaign for justice for Anwar and to save Malaysia.

The original book draft became thicker when Anwar provided quite lengthy additional personal and handwritten notes to supplement it. I then endeavored to locate his many friends from school, university, NGOs, and politics, as well as members of his family. I also invested in many precious old reference materials, including pictures and books related to Anwar.

When I realized it had become too thick – the book will be at least 1,000 pages – I then decided to publish it in several volumes. I started this project in 2015, published the first volume in 2021. I am targeting to publish the second and third volume this year. Hopefully I can publish another one next year and another two volumes by 2025.

The first volume of your biography covers Anwar’s early years in Penang. What have you learned from the study of this period, and how do you think it shaped his political career?

The early decades after Anwar’s birth and his formative years were crucial in shaping his ideals and I believe that it had a significant impact on his later activism.

In the 1940s, when the world was still “busy” with the horrors of the World War II, the Southeast Asian region in general was witnessing the growing sentiments of nationalism. In Malaya, quite a number of political parties were registered, like UMNO and PAS, which remain active up until now. Anwar’s parents played quite an important role in the early development of UMNO in Penang.

From the use of the “Hidup Melayu!” chant to reflect the party’s initial struggle, UMNO later realized the important of demanding independence – hence the changing of the slogan to “Merdeka!” which reflected the confidence of natives that they were ready for self-government.

Anwar was brought up in this kind of environment. He was actively exposed to politics by his parents and subconsciously learnt the importance of fighting for the plight of the people – the very reason why we were more keen for independence and self-governance.

Growing up in Penang, one of the most cosmopolitan states in the country, he was exposed not just to politics, but to ethnic diversity. He also learnt the importance of being a proud Malay – that we were ready to learn new skills in order to be more competitive.

In a recent article, the academic Sophie Lemiére wrote that Anwar “has always been a political chameleon, who would change his colors to match any audience.” Do you agree with this statement, and are there any elements of his career that have remained constant? What principles have guided Anwar on his long and circuitous path from his early years as a student activist to the prime minister’s office?

It is not a new label for Anwar. Whilst unjust accusations such as being a “political chameleon” could easily be used to overlook his years of political struggles, they forget that we are now living in a more open environment, where people can have better access to information to compare and contrast and come up with their own views and opinions.

I believe if we listen attentively to Anwar’s messages, we shall notice that he has been consistent. Having said that, he has understood the political reality in Malaysia – with all its racial prejudices, rural-urban divides, etc. – which have required him (like any politician in the country) to be extra careful when espousing his views.

I think we have to be fair to him. While people tend to be a political chameleon in many instances to please their voters, Anwar has many times consistently asserted views that have been deemed controversial and unpopular. Many agree that Anwar has been very consistent when talking about the plight of the poor, about the role of the government to uplift the country, integrity among leaders, education, and a moderate approach to Islamic values that celebrates diversity and inter-faith dialogue.

I believe he is very much guided by his beliefs about Islam. Islam that is very much living with dynamics of reality while appreciating its past glorious history.

Anwar Ibrahim made his political debut in the Islamist student movement. In 1983, he was the leader of the country’s largest Islamist organization when he was recruited by then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to join his government. What role did Islam play in the formation of Anwar’s political views, and how does it relate to the relatively progressive, multi-ethnic vision of Malaysian society that he professes today?

As I mentioned earlier, I believe that he is guided by his Islamic beliefs. Islam has always been Anwar’s political foundation and has shaped his views. But what makes him different from many other Islamist political leaders? This is the interesting part.

From what I have gathered, Anwar has always engaged openly and consistently with various different groups of Islamist scholars and intellectuals. In addition, he had also engaged and learnt from different thought and community leaders outside these networks. He made himself “a bridge” between different groups of people and ideas. That is why he can be seen meeting with scholars and leaders from different and sometimes opposing groups. It requires a leader with passion, patience, and compassion – and above all a peacemaker – to do this as it also comes with the risk of being hated by all.

What people see as today’s more progressive Anwar Ibrahim is actually the result of an accumulation of knowledge and bittersweet experience from his life. I think Anwar has always been a progressive person from his early days. The difference, perhaps, was the environment and reality that he has had to deal with up until now.

How would you characterize the relationship between Anwar and his mentor-turned-nemesis Mahathir? What were the primary reasons that the relationship soured, and in what ways does this reflect the two leaders’ differing visions for Malaysia?

I could be wrong, but in my view I believe that, deep inside, Anwar may have become disappointed that Mahathir was not the ideal person he used to believe – a glorified leader who was above everyone and everything in Malaysian politics.

I was quite surprised when Anwar once mentioned to me back in 2004 or 2005, when I was still a student leader, that he had learned a lot about governance from Mahathir. This was an answer he gave to me in a conversation when a great majority were condemning Mahathir for what had happened to Anwar since 1998.

Perhaps the best way to characterize their relationship is that “two lions cannot share the same mountain.” I sincerely believe that it is not Anwar’s fault that he became a brighter leader after his entry into UMNO. He learned the most about politics from Mahathir and continued to assert his influence as a bright upcoming leader, which some came to see as a threat to Mahathir. The reality was, Mahathir came from his father’s generation. It is only logical that Anwar was preparing to receive the baton from Mahathir. But Mahathir had different ideas.

I think the primary reason for their confrontation was when Mahathir thought that Anwar was trying to outsmart him and ruin his legacy.

Anwar has not only been demonstrating that he was garnering influence and recognition whenever he went – inside or outside the country, regionally or internationally. But Anwar also had different views about how things should be done, including on governance, human rights, economic policies etc. It shook those who were too comfortable with their networks of wealth and the way they did things.

The paradox of the last Malaysian general election is that Anwar has finally reached the pinnacle of Malaysian politics at the very moment that Islamic-inflected Malay identity politics appears to be gaining considerable ground, as seen in the electoral success of PAS. Do you think Anwar can manage this balance, and do you think he will succeed in advancing the reforms that he has long advocated?

It is too early to say. A “clash of civilizations” was anticipated by Samuel Huntington in the mid- 1990s. But he was looking at it from a broader perspective, posing an antithesis to Francis Fukuyama’s “The End of History,” that initially proclaimed liberal democracy’s victory after the collapse of the Soviet empire.

Little known to international thinkers and leaders is that the contradiction between the East and West is not just about whether we are more democratic or socialist in our governance and economic structure, but reflects issues of culture that are shaped largely by race and religion, which have continuously resurfaced in many countries like Malaysia.

Anwar’s rise to significance was intermingled within the public discourse of how to make Malays and Muslims more prosperous. To a certain extent, he has quite successfully differentiated himself from PAS. But that doesn’t mean all people would fully understand or be receptive to the idea of a Muslim democrat.

Ever since he left ABIM, Malaysia’s Islamic youth movement, Anwar has been seen as more liberal than religious in his politics. The heavy political campaigns against him since 1998 have also revolved around this – that he is not the Islamic leader he used to be and that he is bringing a liberal agenda that doesn’t fit well for the Malay-Muslim majority in the country.

This is the reality, and I can be certain that it is not easy to convince the Malay-Muslim population that Anwar’s views are very much aligned with Islamic values. Nevertheless, knowing Anwar, I am confident that he is not the type of person who will give up easily. When he knows that something is not right, he will try to maneuver his way to making positive changes wherever they are needed.

I strongly believe that he will be able to steer the country toward some reforms, if not all. I hope that there will be some meaningful institutional reforms in all three branches of government, although I understand that most people may want to see more economic reforms to overcome the current post-pandemic challenges.

Anwar is at his finest when faced with challenges. He is most focused when he wants reforms to happen, and he knows well that he does not have much time. He is a man in a hurry. I hope this will be motivation for him to get things done better and quicker.

Time will tell whether he is able to leave an impact as Malaysia’s 10th prime minister. Historically speaking, Anwar has always left his mark as a great leader wherever and whenever he leads. I have high confidence in him, and I believe that he will make people realize that we are having him a little too late, compared to his peak 15-20 years ago.