Anwar - the ghost of 1998

MM - Why Anwar’s freedom may open old wounds (extracts):

Anwar’s release would be a moment to celebrate for a group which laboured in Opposition for decades and faced constant pressure from those in office — he’s been jailed twice on sodomy convictions and also for abuse of power. Still, while a pardon would in theory clear the way for him to resume a political role, the move may exacerbate tension within the fledgling government.
That’s because Mahathir, 92, promised during the campaign to stand aside for Anwar once he was pardoned but is now pushing back the potential timeline by a matter of years.
Failing to make room for Anwar would highlight the extent to which the durability of the coalition rests on a continued rapprochement between the two former enemies.

“There is this give-and-take that the two must abide by,” according to Sivamurugan Pandian, a professor of political sociology at Universiti Sains Malaysia. “The longer the wait the greater the animosity among Anwar’s supporters, but at the same time they understand that the unifying factor that led them to win the election was Mahathir.”

Mahathir said today that Anwar will need first to contest a parliamentary seat, and potentially then take a Cabinet role.

“In the initial stages, maybe lasting one or two years, I will have to be the prime minister and I will have to run the country,” Mahathir said via video conference to participants at a Wall Street Journal event in Tokyo.

The relationship between Anwar and Mahathir has been marked by decades of bitterness and public attacks, stemming from Mahathir’s decision during a prior stint in power to sack Anwar as his deputy amid a dispute on how best to respond to the Asian financial crisis.

After he was fired in 1998, Anwar was jailed in the majority Muslim nation for committing sodomy and abusing power, charges he denied. He is currently in jail on a subsequent sodomy conviction and would require the royal pardon to bypass a five-year ban on re-entering politics.

There are already signs of tension in the four-party coalition in the election aftermath, including public squabbles over the way Cabinet posts are decided. The Pakatan Harapan (PH) grouping includes one mostly representing ethnic Malays, and one representing Chinese.

“I expect some resistance,” Mahathir said of differences related to Cabinet appointments. “So far we have been able to resolve. It is accepted that the final decision will be made by me.”

Anwar should be, if there is no sabo, released by this afternoon.

The more intriguing question is: Will a released Anwar sit still for 2 years?

His PKR people are notorious for their impatience, so will he buat diam diam as Mahathir PM's away?

Will he be subjected to the same party pressure (last time from his UMNO faction, this time from his PKR) as he was in 1998?

Will he succumb to the temptation to prematurely oust Mahathir again?

The permutation in PKR dynamics are staggering when you consider that within Anwar's party there also exists factions which are bitter to each other, and bizarrely this intra-party acrimony includes Chinese and Indians.

Not forgetting that on top of PKR's own fracture, there would be The Great Race between Pribumi and PKR.

But Wan Azizah, having met Lau Mah, behaves with extraordinary caution, first saying Anwar won't immediately be the PM, and now, saying there will No by-election planned for Anwar.

What was said between Lau Mah and her that she is now very guarded?

We know she, as the wifey of a husband, incarcerated for years in a on-off-on state of persecution, just wants freedom and peace for hubby and family. 

But again, the question that will bedevil Wan Azizah and family, will Anwar's PKR-istas remain kuai kuai for 2 more years?

Knowing the behaviour of the PKR-istas, I doubt it.