COMMENT | Anwar must be a leader Malays need, not what the elites want

“I don't pretend to be a man of the people. But I do try to be a man for the people.”

- Gracchus (Gladiator)

COMMENT | This is Anwar Ibrahim’s final shot at the throne of Putrajaya. The stakes are not only personal, but the trajectory of this country depends on whether Pakatan Harapan can galvanise an electorate narcotised by not only religious and racial imperatives but also a deep sense of pessimism that the political elites of this country do not want any kind of change.

Now that Anwar has been chosen by Harapan to lead, everyone in Harapan should rally behind him. This is about coalition discipline and even if Anwar missteps, what Harapan should do is not spin but clarify and not use these missteps as opportunities to relitigate past failures.

Like most right-wing hegemons the world over, the political elites in this country use race and religion as a means to subvert democratic norms while remaining within the margins of democracy. The ultimate aim, of course, is a kind of fascist faux democracy which would enable rule in perpetuity.

Much has been written about the Malays needing to...