Malaysia's Moment of Sanity

Publication Type

News Article

Publication Date

1-2012

Abstract

Yesterday's acquittal of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on the charge of sodomy ends two and a half years of a bad sequel. After being convicted once in 2000 on the same charge and subsequently exonerated on appeal, this time the court found that the prosecution failed to prove its case. The decision is a moment of sanity after three years of political turmoil since the March 2008 polls. That election effectively broke the stranglehold on power of the incumbent Barisan Nasional, the National Front coalition, which lost its two-thirds majority in parliament. After the loss, the ruling United Malays National Organization seemed to go back to its mode of personal-attack politics, as practiced by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The new accusation against Mr. Anwar also signaled a return to the ways of the Mahathir era.

Keywords

Malaysia, politics and government, Anwar Ibrahim

Discipline

Asian Studies | Political Science

Research Areas

Political Science

Publication

Wall Street Journal

ISSN

0099-9660

Publisher

Dow Jones

Additional URL

https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204257504577150490598622100.html

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