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Having spent so many years being incarcerated for reasons best known to Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the motley crew of his successors, Anwar Ibrahim finally became prime minister exactly a year ago, today – this, too, after a series of twists and only after our king stepped in.

Because of the inconclusive results of the last general election, and without a clear mandate, the prime minister had to reach out to his political rivals and do some horse-trading before he got appointed to the top job.

It was only after Umno (read: Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) finally backed him that the powerful East Malaysia bloc joined in and gave the prime minister the majority he needed to be appointed to the country’s top job.

From 1998 when he first got the boot as the deputy prime minister, to launching the “reformasi” movement, to forming his multiracial PKR party, and then being sent to prison on two occasions, our current prime minister stood head and shoulders above all the other Malaysian politicians for his reform agenda.

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Anwar faces hard choices as popularity dips

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KUALA LUMPUR: After years of political turmoil that saw rapid turnover at the Prime Minister’s Office, Anwar Ibrahim’s first 12 months as the nation’s leader might feel like a success in itself.

Except, a stalled reform agenda has meant that Anwar has been unable to boost the nation’s revenues and pare debt, as the rising cost of living hits the pockets of ordinary Malaysians.

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“Nobody’s blaming Kit Siang for his strong faith in Anwar but he jolly well be right about Anwar”

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PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s supporters – Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang included – simply do not understand. They keep thinking that people are criticising Anwar and the unity government because we are impatient with results but that is not the case.

We know that results take time. Heck, we even know that the results are not fully in Anwar’s or the unity government’s control.

Take the economy for example. If the economy does badly, we know that it might not necessarily be Anwar’s or the unity government’s fault. Results depend on many things, among which is fortune and luck.

If Anwar and the unity government truly did their best – even if they couldn’t get the desired result – we can understand and accept that fortune was just not on our side. The problem is that we don’t believe that Anwar has tried his best or is even trying at all.

We don’t see Anwar trying to re-establish the doctrine of separation of power, institute the independence of the judiciary, fight against corruption, practise good governance, make educational reforms or uphold human rights or freedom of speech and religion.

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