Relativism is no defense for PM Anwar

Murray Hunter


Relativism is no defense for PM Anwar

P Ramasamy
Aug 25, 2025






One regular commentator on social media has argued that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is as legitimate a premier and MP as the system allows.

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In essence, he contends that Anwar merely repeats—albeit in different forms—what past prime ministers have done before him.

The move by P. Waytha Moorthy, former federal minister and current president of MAP, to disqualify Anwar as an elected MP and therefore prime minister is strictly a legal or constitutional challenge. In truth, worse transgressions may have been committed by prime ministers before Anwar.

Anwar’s problem is not necessarily that he contravened the conditions of his royal pardon, but that he has taken advantage of the grey areas within the legal and constitutional system.

While the commentator does not absolve Anwar of the consequences of his actions, he suggests that instead of dismantling the flawed system through reform, Anwar has chosen to exploit it for political advantage.

Reforms, when invoked, became a convenient slogan—yes, to catapult himself and his allies into power, but once seated in the dizzying heights of office, reforms were forgotten as quickly as they were announced.

Anwar was undoubtedly politically prosecuted because he posed a threat to his rivals. The legal system unfortunately functioned as a political apparatus to convict him, only for him to be later pardoned after Pakatan Harapan’s victory.

Now, Waytha Moorthy, aligned with the broader opposition, challenges Anwar through legal and constitutional means. He questions whether the royal pardon completely erased Anwar’s past convictions, and whether the five-year ban on electoral participation should have barred him from contesting in 2022.

This argument has found resonance with none other than former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The problem with the commentator’s position, however, is that he moves inconsistently between the legal and political realms when assessing Anwar’s case. Yes, past prime ministers were no saints. But should not a self-proclaimed reformist prime minister be held to the higher standard he once demanded of others?

No other prime minister raised the banner of reform as loudly as Anwar did. Therefore, his performance should be measured by the very yardstick he used to critique others. Whether or not Anwar resigns, it is clear that the legal and political system has deteriorated further under his leadership.

It serves little purpose to argue that Anwar is simply “no different” from his predecessors. Our political system should not be relativised for the sake of scoring political points. Instead, it must be judged on firm normative principles. Relativism, if used as a shield, only deepens the growing public disillusionment with Anwar’s leadership.