Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim won a special election for a parliament seat Tuesday, strengthening his campaign to topple the government and become the next prime minister even though he faces a sodomy charge.Anwar Ibrahim is the former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia and is currently the de facto leader of Keadilan, the People’s Justice Party. After a distinguished career in public service he was unjustly removed from office and endured six years in solitary confinement on trumped-up charges. In 2004 those charges were dismissed and he resumed his campaign to build a prosperous, democratic and just Malaysia.
Anwar is the only Malaysian to ever make it into Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world.
Who is Anwar Ibrahim??
Anwar was born in Cherok Tok Kun, a village on the mainland side of the northern Malaysian state of Penang, to a hospital porter, Ibrahim Abdul Rahman (later to join politics and retire as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health) and Che Yan, a housewife (and later UMNO politician). He was educated at University of Malaya, where he read Malay Studies. Prior to that, he took his secondary education at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar.
From 1968 to 1971, as a student, Anwar was the president of a Muslim students organisation, Persatuan Kebangsaan Pelajar Islam Malaysia (PKPIM). He was one of the protem committee of Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) or Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia which was founded in 1971. He was also elected President of the Malaysian Youth Council or Majlis Belia Malaysia (MBM). In 1974, Anwar was arrested during student protests against rural poverty and hunger. He was imprisoned under the Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial, and spent 20 months in the Kamunting Detention Centre for political prisoners.
On April 14, 2008, Anwar celebrated his official return to the political stage, as his ban from public office expired a decade after he was fired as Deputy Prime Minister. One of the main reasons the opposition seized a third of parliamentary seats and five states in the worst ever showing for the Barisan Nasional coalition that has ruled for half a century, was due to him leading at the helm. A gathering of more than 1,000 supporters greeted Anwar in a rally welcoming his return to politics. Police interrupted Anwar after he had addressed the rally for nearly two hours and called for him to stop the gathering since there was no legal permission for the rally.
On April 29, 2008, after 10 years of absence, he returned to the Parliament, albeit upon invitation as a spouse guest of Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, People's Justice Party and the first female opposition leader in Malaysian Parliament's history. Anwar Ibrahim stated he is confident that he can win over enough government legislators in a parliamentary vote in September to end over 50 years of rule by one party. His party will stage a confidence vote on September 16 against Abdullah Badawi and needs the support of just 30 government legislators in the 222-seat lower house of parliament.
It hopes to sway ruling party lawmakers from the states of Sabah and Sarawak to oust the UMNO party from power for the first time since Malaysia won independence in 1957. On July 27, 2008, Anwar Ibrahim said that he aimed to return to Parliament if a court ordered a by-election near his home town of Permatang Pauh in Penang. He said on July 31 that he would contest a by-election for the parliamentary seat of Permatang Pauh, which was being vacated by his wife in order to expedite his return to political office. His wife Wan Azizah said she handed her letter of resignation to the parliament speaker on 31 July. Party officials said that the by-election had to be held within 60 days.
