Do we like them?Do we like Anwar Ibrahim?
Our score: 5 out of 10. A hard-won reform story and real aid efforts sit next to a firm line against LGBTQ+ recognition, so this lands in the middle.
Anwar grew up in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, and made his name young. He founded the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (ABIM) in 1971 and was arrested under the Internal Security Act in 1974 after leading a student protest over poverty in Baling. He joined UMNO in 1982, ran several ministries through the 80s and early 90s, and became deputy prime minister in 1993.
Then it all fell apart. He was sacked in September 1998, called the allegations politically motivated, toured the country urging then-PM Mahathir to resign, and was arrested under the ISA. In 1999 he was sentenced to six years for abuse of power, then convicted of sodomy and given nine more. International critics slammed the trials. The sodomy conviction was overturned in 2004, but a second case ended with the Federal Court upholding a conviction and five-year sentence in 2015. He walked free on a royal pardon in 2018.
On the harm test, his record is mixed. In January 2023 he dismissed claims he would recognise LGBT rights as “just a delusion” and said it would never happen, and a Justice for Sisters co-founder called such sentiment dangerous. In a September 2023 CNN interview he said harassment of LGBT people would not be tolerated and urged “some tolerance”, though he ruled out formal acceptance. He is no outright campaigner against trans people, but he is not an ally either.
The recent stuff is less a scandal than a political brawl. In September 2026 he settled a defamation suit he filed in 2023 against Pendang MP Awang Solahuddin Hashim over lobby remarks that allegedly implied he had abused his powers. Awang withdrew the statements and agreed not to repeat them. Anwar also defended Najib's right to seek a pardon, rejected claims he paved the way for it, and said he keeps reminding the board that “the fine is exceptionally large”.
Where you land on Najib depends on whether you read Anwar as a man respecting due process or as a coalition partner paying a political price. Either way, his own statement is that every prisoner can apply and that the board should weigh the case. That's what he said and did, and what the sources show.
On the good side, his government announced an extra RM100 million in humanitarian aid for Palestine in August 2025, on top of an earlier RM100 million. In March 2026 he launched a 30-container aid mission to Gaza. The anti-corruption agency has also said that a viral claim that he held offshore accounts was probed and disproved more than 25 years ago.