According to China News Network, under the coordination of the supreme head of state, the Malaysian general election, which had been suspended for many days, finally came to an end, and Pakatan Harapan leader Anwar, who won the most seats, became prime minister, ending a 24-year "escort".
Malaysia's new Prime Minister Anwar
Anwar said that China is an important neighbor of Malaysia, and he will make relations with China a priority after taking office, and the relationship between the two countries will not stop at the status quo. Of course, he also stressed the importance of maintaining friendly relations with the United States and approaching international affairs with diversified ideas.
Anwar is 75 years old this year, has had ups and downs in Malaysian politics for so many years, and has been a deputy prime minister and squatted in prison, and it is not easy to finally realize his wish to become prime minister.
It is worth mentioning that Anwar's thinking and governing philosophy have actually changed a lot. Early in his political career, he was a staunch nationalist who advocated the primacy of Malays and the exclusion of secular Chinese. During his tenure as Malaysia's education minister, Anwar did not stop stumbling on Chinese education, leaving a shadow in the hearts of Chinese.
Malaysia's new Prime Minister Anwar
But it was precisely because of this concept that Anwar entered the eyes of then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Since joining UMNO, Anwar has been serving as Mahathir's deputy, helping him push the national policy of theocracy, and Malaysia has become increasingly conservative.
The turning point came in 1998, when Asian countries were swept by the financial crisis, and in order to stabilize the economy, Anwar, then deputy prime minister, advocated austerity policies, hoping that the people of the whole country would tighten their belts and work with the government to tide over the difficulties.
But the rise in lending rates caused by the rate hike has also overwhelmed large and small businesses and house slaves, and even large companies with close ties to UMNO, let alone small companies without resources and connections.
Anwar and Mahathir
Seeing that things were getting bigger and bigger, in order to keep his position as prime minister and family business, Mahathir could only abandon Anwar and dismiss him for investigation, and the pair broke up.
Since then, Anwar has been jailed twice for sex scandals, but he insists it is a political persecution of him by the ruling party, and his supporters have taken to the streets to demand Mahathir's resignation, in what is known as the "Agni no extinguished" movement.
Agni Mo Xian is a transliteration word meaning reform in Malay. The reason for this is simple, since they have broken with UMNO, they must put forward a political concept that is diametrically opposed to them, UMNO advocates Malay first, Anwar must advocate diversity.
Anwar and Mahathir
Moreover, UMNO's rule over Malaysia for more than half a century has created a culture of entrenched corruption that voters have long been unhappy with. So Anwar took the opportunity to put forward an anti-corruption slogan, advocating the establishment of an equal, open and just society for all.
Later, Mahathir also left UMNO to establish his own portal, and he and Anwar formed an alliance for political interests. In 2018, the two led Pakatan Harapan to victory in parliamentary elections, ending UMNO's long history of rule.
Originally, both said that they would first make Mahathir prime minister and hand over the baton to Anwar two years later. As a result, Mahathir repented after the time, was reluctant to abdicate, and the alliance fought again, and finally Mahathir stepped down in a coup, and the position of prime minister was also picked by Mahathir's deputy Muhiddin peaches, and Anwar's wish was once again disappointed.
Malaysian General Election
It wasn't until October, when Malaysia dissolved parliament and held early general elections, that Anwar had another chance. Unfortunately, although his Pakatan Harapan won the most 82 seats, it was still 30 seats short of the threshold for forming a cabinet, and could only form a government with UMNO-led BN or Muhiddin's National League.
Some analysts believe that Anwar should choose Barisan Nasional that can accept multi-ethnic rule over the League, which is extremely conservative in religion and ethnicity. After all, UMNO can at most open a backdoor for the Malays, and the League League's Indigenous Unity Party and the Islamic Party are truly "Malay-only".
Shaking hands with one's old rival is a common occurrence in Malaysian politics. In the context of high ethnic and political fragmentation, it is difficult for any party or coalition to win a majority of seats in parliament.
Malaysian General Election
So, whether Anwar can create a fair and just pluralistic society as he promised, it is really difficult to say, and Malaysian politics may not stabilize there. But Anwar is right about the fact that strengthening bilateral ties with China is good for Malaysia's pluralistic identity and increasing its international influence.