Opinion: Turun Anwar Rally: PAS Won, Anwar Did Not Lose — Mahathir and Muhyiddin Are the Biggest Losers

Opinion: Turun Anwar Rally: PAS Won, Anwar Did Not Lose — Mahathir and Muhyiddin Are the Biggest Losers


29 Jul 2025 • 1:30 PM MYT



TheRealNehruism
Writer. Seeker. Teacher

Image credit: utusan / SCMP /finance twitter



If you ask me who the biggest winner of yesterday’s rally was, my answer is clear: PAS and Hadi Awang.


Hadi may be old and in poor health, and there’s been talk of him stepping down to make way for younger leaders. But the massive turnout at the 26 July Turun Anwar rally suggests otherwise—Hadi is still firmly in control of PAS.


I was at the rally myself and estimate that 100,000 people, mostly from PAS, showed up. (You can watch my earlier video for a breakdown of how I arrived at that number.) What matters here is that Hadi still has the ability to mobilize such a crowd. That tells us his authority within PAS remains unshaken. His instructions are followed, and his loyalists show up in force when called.


Recently, Hadi said he wants to lead PAS until the end of his life. Judging by the strength of the turnout, it looks like his wish will come true. PAS is due to hold its internal elections in September 2025, and Hadi has confirmed he will defend his position. At this rate, not only is he likely to win, he might even go unchallenged.


But even though Hadi was the clear winner on Saturday, that doesn’t mean Anwar Ibrahim lost.


Anwar didn’t lose because, despite the huge crowd at the rally, the event did not shift the political landscape. It didn’t change the status quo or create any new momentum. All it did was confirm what we already knew: there’s a large Malay base that supports PAS and wants to see Anwar fall. We’ve known this for three years—and since nothing came of it before, nothing new is likely to come from it now.


Also, the crowd at the rally was almost entirely Malay. I only saw a handful of Indian and Chinese attendees. While the non-Malay communities have become more openly critical of Anwar, it’s clear they’re not willing to back any effort by his opponents to bring him down. Without meaningful support from Chinese, Indian, and East Malaysian voters, PAS can’t build the broad-based momentum it needs to topple Anwar. In fact, PAS’s show of strength may even push some of Anwar’s critics—especially among non-Malays—back into his camp, albeit reluctantly, simply to keep PAS at bay.



Another reason Anwar didn’t lose is this: Saturday’s rally might be the last big anti-Anwar gathering we see from PAS for a while. Yes, PAS can mobilize numbers—but it hasn’t been able to convert that into real political momentum. It’s been showing off its strength for years now, but that strength alone hasn’t been enough to unseat Anwar. Without a clear plan to build more support, organizing another rally would just be a waste of time, money, and energy.


As of today, Anwar still looks like the only person the public sees as the legitimate leader of Malaysia. People may be unhappy, frustrated, or even angry with him—but none of that changes the fact that he is still seen as the country's leader.


Now to the real losers of Saturday’s rally: Muhyiddin Yassin and Mahathir Mohamad.


Muhyiddin, who already appears weak, looked even weaker in the context of this rally. Saturday should have been his moment—he is, after all, the head of Perikatan Nasional. If Anwar falls, Muhyiddin is supposed to be the alternative. That means he should have been front and center, driving the event with energy and authority.



But he wasn’t. He was barely visible, let alone commanding. The fact that he failed to stand out at an event that should have been his political platform only reinforces the idea that Bersatu and Perikatan may need new leadership. Even though Bersatu’s internal elections aren’t due soon, I expect calls to replace Muhyiddin will grow louder. Hamzah Zainuddin is already being promoted as his successor, and Muhyiddin’s underwhelming presence at the rally will only strengthen that campaign.


Mahathir, meanwhile, went all out to promote the rally—he even released a video accusing Anwar of driving Malaysians to suicide and murder due to poor governance. But after Saturday, I believe Mahathir has run out of ammunition.


Worse still, he may have handed Anwar the perfect excuse to strike back. His role in promoting the rally, along with his remarks on the Yusoff Rawther case and his refusal to accept Anwar's forgiveness in the matter of the Batu Puteh RCI, has likely crossed a line. The rally failed to generate enough momentum to destabilize Anwar, and this failure could now come back to haunt Mahathir.


In many ways, Mahathir has spent his last political coin trying to bring Anwar down. And in doing so, he may have only given Anwar more justification to go after him. If and when Anwar chooses to respond, Mahathir—aside from his advanced age—might find himself with nothing left to defend him.