Opinion: Why Anwar will not be able to lead the country for another 10 years

Opinion: Why Anwar will not be able to lead the country for another 10 years


29 Jan 2024 • 2:00 PM MYT



TheRealNehruism
Writer. Seeker. Teacher

Image credit: NST


Malaysia Today’s Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK) is predicting that Anwar will defeat Mahathir and Daim and reign strong for two terms, or 10 years.


I respectfully disagree.


I believe that Anwar will defeat Mahathir and Daim, but I believe when they are gone, Anwar will also have to go, not long after they are gone.


Since the seizure of Ilham tower, Anwar has been steadily moving the pieces to bring Daim and Mahathir to account. Mahathir and Daim are today, a pale shadow of their former selves. Their attempts to counteract Anwar’s move, through such initiatives as the Dubai Move, was predictable and it has fallen flat. Anwar on the other hand, has been able to charge Daim’s wife and is most likely going tocharge Daim in the very near future. He will also likely be soon moving against Mahathir’s children.


The signs are such that Anwar will indeed succeed in bringing Mahathir and Daim to their knees in the near future. However, once Mahathir and Daim are gone, Anwar’s relevance will likely disappear with them.


While the next Agong, the Johor sultan, will likely back Anwar against Mahathir, for it is an open secret that the Johor Royals have a long frowned against Mahathir, once Mahathir is down, Anwar might not be able to count on the support of the Johor Sultan any longer.


Anwar’s supporters might be standing behind him today because they see him acting concretely against the Mahathir-Daim inner circle, but once Anwar has brought Mahathir and Daim down, they are likely going to expect Anwar to move the country forward, and this is where Anwar will falter.


Anwar does not possess the seed of the future. Malaysians will only support him for as long as prepares the ground for the future, by acting against the forces of the old world, but when it is time to plant the seed of the future, Anwar will likely be found wanting.



Anwar, for all intent and purpose, belongs to the past. Just because he is currently engaged in battle with the ancien régime of Mahathir and Daim, it doesn’t mean that he is not also a part of the old order.


That RPK went on to speculate that former Mahathir–Daim business cronies like Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun, Tan Sri Francis Yeoh Sock Ping and Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary are likely to abandon Dr Mahathir and Daim and give their allegiance to Anwar is a further sign that Anwar belongs to the past.


Developing the country and the economy through cronyism is a feature of the old order. That Anwar is showing signs that he is going to continue the practice of the old order, by getting elements of the old order to switch their allegiance towards him, is a sign that Anwar also intends to develop the country and the economy in the same way that Mahathir and Daim used in the past.



Just like Mahathir, Anwar will most likely attempt to become a salesman for Malaysia and travel all over the world to persuade foreign investors to invest in Malaysia. Just like the Mahathir-Daim inner circle before him and Najib, he will likely also use the nation’s resources to start megaprojects, which he will promote as a necessary investment, to turn Malaysia into a developed nation.


The problem, however, is that Malaysia today, unlike Malaysia in the past, is no longer an attractive destination for foreign investment. Malaysia in the 80s and 90s provided value to foreign investors. There were very few countries in the world that could offer them what Malaysia could offer them.


Today, there are many countries that can offer foreign investors what Malaysia can offer. No matter how good a salesman you are, you can only promote the country if it has a competitive value in the global market. Unlike the 80s and 90s, Anwar will likely have a difficult time selling Malaysia as an attractive destination for foreign investment.



The concept of developing the country and the economy via megaprojects is likely also no longer suitable for the times. Najib has already tried that, but the response has been lukewarm. In today’s world, such game-changing features as Artificial Intelligence are going to be the main drivers of the economy. Anwar however, is ill-equipped to deal with the realities of the modern world.


Anwar’s main relevance to Malaysia is as a force for reforms. His ability to reform the country will likely end the minute he has brought the old order to its knees.


Other than bringing the old order to account, Anwar will likely also attempt to tilt the economic imbalance in the country, which favours the rich much more than it does the working class. According to a study by the National Economic Action Council, at least 40 per cent of government subsidies are benefiting the rich or the T20 group. The dependence of our economy on foreign workers is also a feature of our economy that benefits the rich to the detriment of the B40.



Anwar is already attempting to re-balance our economy, through such actions as removing the electricity tariff for the T20 household and starting the PADU initiative, which will target subsidies towards the B40 group, but these actions, although necessary, will likely cause upheaval in the market before its benefits can be realised.


There is also a question as to whether they will be implemented in a well enough manner for the benefits to be realised.


Once Anwar tames the old order, the focus will be on the economy, and this is where Anwar will be found wanting.


Once Anwar defeats Mahathir and Daim, Anwar’s attempt to develop Malaysia through the old ways, as well as the upheaval he will face in his attempt to re-balance our economy, will cause Malaysians to start seeing Anwar as a Mahathir 2.0, and yearn for a leadership that will be able to lead us towards a future, instead of a leader who is only equipped to deal with the realities of the 80s and 90s.



As Eric Hoffer once observed, “In times of drastic change, it is the learners that will inherit the world, while the learned will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”


We are living in a time of drastic change.


Anwar is the learned who is beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.


He might be the most able person to fight against the old way of the old order, but once he succeeds in pacifying the old order, it is those who are able to learn the new ways of the new world, that Malaysians will pin their hopes on to lead them forward.


If Anwar is able to accept the reality, he will start the process of handing over his reign, once he has tamed the old order.


If not, he himself will be a part of the old order, that the learners who will inherit the world, will have to topple, in order to move the country forward.

Nehru Sathiamoorthy is the author of “While Waiting for the World to end”. He was a columnist at FMT and a frequent contributor to the South China Morning Post, Malaysia-Today, MalaysiaNow, MalaysiaKini and Focus Malaysia.