PETALING JAYA – Not since 1998 has Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim witnessed such euphoria among the rakyat, who are demanding change for the betterment of the country.
In an exclusive interview with The Vibes, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman drew parallels between the current campaign and the days following his sacking from the cabinet and Umno in 1998, which inspired massive street demonstrations.
Anwar, who did not take part in the 2018 election due to his imprisonment, said the sense of excitement today is very much prevalent in the constituencies he has visited.
The former deputy prime minister has been touring the nation over the past couple of weeks, campaigning for PH and its candidates as the coalition looks to regain federal power.
“I wasn’t there in 2018, but as far as the sentiment and hype over elections are concerned, it’s just like in 1998, when people got very emotional and excited, grabbing you and being in tears.
“We can see that. This is happening this time,” the PKR president said at his office here yesterday.
Anwar was fired from the cabinet on September 2, 1998, and from Umno a day later by then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, after the pair’s massive falling out due to contrasting views on governance, giving birth to the Reformasi movement.
This follows Anwar’s stand against the nepotism and cronyism supposedly present within Umno at the time.
Dr Mahathir had justified the sacking with Anwar’s alleged involvement in sodomy.
In the immediate days following his dismissal, the latter spoke out vehemently against injustice and corruption.
After leading a massive rally in the heart of the city on September 20, 1998, Anwar was arrested and detained without trial under the Internal Security Act.
He was later sentenced to prison for six years on April 1999 for corruption, and handed a nine-year jail term two months later for sodomy.
Heading into the 15th general election, Anwar said he is encouraged by what he describes as “extensive support” from the masses for PH.
He also commended the coalition for supposedly being the only one championing matters close to the people's hearts, including the economy and bread-and-butter issues.
PH stronger now than in 2018
For Anwar, while certain key factors influencing the outcome of the last election are no longer prevalent – including Dr Mahathir’s decision to join PH’s fight and the strong sentiment against 1Malaysia Development Bhd then – the coalition has grown in strength since.
“You should look at the historical antecedents of all these elections. In 2008, we broke Barisan Nasional’s two-thirds majority. In 2013, we garnered more than 50% of the popular vote. People tend to ignore these facts.
“What this shows is (the support for PH) has been on the increase,” he said, adding that PH has also been able to address some of its weaknesses.
Among other things, Anwar pointed out that other than merely focusing on its core support in urban and suburban constituencies, PH has made inroads into more non-traditional rural seats.
We have learnt from our mistake of not attempting hard enough to penetrate the rural base, which we have now done in the last phase of this campaign... including in seats like Pasir Mas and Dungun.”
Anwar also warned BN against being overconfident and relying solely on the Melaka and Johor polls’ results as a barometer for this general election.
He said that based on information gathered by PH leaders in Johor, for instance, the coalition may better its 2018 performance, when it won 18 of the 26 federal seats in the southern state.
“This time around, the sentiment is different. We are talking about an alternative national government,” he said.
When asked what PH’s strategy will be if it fails to obtain the 112 seats required to form the new government, Anwar had this to say: “Our effort now is not to allow that to happen. We’ll try our best and see what happens.” – The Vibes, November 18, 2022
