Lenggong town center.

Lenggong is a town in Perak, Malaysia. It is situated 100 km north of Ipoh.

Introduction[link]

The Lenggong valley in Ulu Perak is one of Peninsular Malaysia's most important areas for archaeology, as excavations have revealed many traces of Malaysia's prehistory. It is the site of the oldest known place of human activity in the Peninsula. Today it is still a rural area, with small kampungs surrounded by green vegetation and limestone hills. Lenggong can be likened to an open-air museum, and is home to legends, skeletons, cave drawings and precious finds such as jewellery, pottery, weapons and stone tools. Many of the caves in the Lenggong area have revealed evidence of ancient humans having lived and hunted in this area.

Lenggong is accessible by trunk roads connecting it with neighboring towns and cities. The town of Lenggong is situated some 100 kilometres north of Ipoh on the Kuala Kangsar to Grik road. The road to Lenggong is surrounded mostly by oil palm estates and jungles. As cows and buffalo are part of the agriculture, they are often seen along the road. The jungles (about million years old) are now in danger of heavy illegal logging.

To visit Lenggong, from the North-South Expressway take Exit No.143 at Kuala Kangsar – that’s about 3 hours away from Kuala Lumpur. Then take Route 76 to Lenggong. The new highway is open and has replaced the old scenic kampung road.

Prehistoric Malaysia[link]

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Malaysia Portal v t e

Archaeology[link]

Malaysia is considered a very young country archaeologically with a very recent prehistory. In Africa, the predecessors of the human species originated about 3 - 5 million years ago. Their descendants migrated out of Africa and their prehistoric remains have been found all over Europe and Asia. Both Java Man and Peking Man date back to about 300,000 years ago. In Malaysia, the earliest remains is a human skull found in the Niah Caves in Sarawak and dates back some 40,000 years. In Semenanjung (Peninsula) Malaysia, the story is even more recent and starts in Lenggong about 31,000 years ago. Incidentally, many people think of the Bujang Valley in Kedah as being one of the oldest sites, but its history only stretches back about 1,500 years. All the archaeological remains found in Lenggong have been associated with caves. The two exceptions are the Kota Tampan and Bukit Jawa sites. These two are Peninsular Malaysia's only Palaeolithic sites.

Kota Tampan is the earliest known site of human inhabitation. Excavations at Kota Tampan which began in 1938 revealed an undisturbed stone tool production area. Pebble tools were made using equipment such as anvils and hammer stones. Some 50,000 pieces of stone have been found and recorded. The culture at Kota Tampan is referred to as Tampanian. The workshop was initially dated at 30,000 years old, but this figure has now been revised to 75,000 years. Although the Kota Tampan workshop site is currently on a hillside, and in an oil palm plantation, the original site was on a lake shore. It is thought that the workshop was disbanded roughly 75,000 years ago due to a volcanic eruption at Lake Toba in Sumatra, some 250 kilometres away. There is a large gap of some 17,000 years between Kota Tampan and the next archaeological site, Gua Gunung Runtuh, which has been attributed to the devastating effects of the Toba eruption.

More recently, a team has been excavating a site at Bukit Jawa, and this has been dated at 200,000 years old. Bukit Jawa is therefore far older than the Kota Tampan workshop, which is just 6 km away.

The Lenggong Valley in upper Perak, is an important archaeological site where evidences of human settlement from the Palaeolithic age were found. Important archaeological sites include Kota Tampan, Bukit Jawa at Kampung Gelok and Kampung Temelong. The most famous archaeological findings in Lenggong was Perak Man, the 11,000 years old human skeletal remains which was discovered in 1991. 100,000 year-old stone tools have been excavated at Kampung Geluk and Kampung Temelong. There has also been proof that Gua Harimau was a site of bronze manufacture during the Bronze Age. There is also the Lenggong Archaeological Museum at Kota Tampan where artifacts excavated from the area are displayed. The museum is located within an oil palm estate on the road from Kuala Kangsar to Gerik (or Grik).

Lenggong's prehistory extends back to the Palaeolithic or old Stone Age, but most sites are more recent, from the Neolithic or new Stone Age. The Palaeolithic period occurred from 2 million - 10,000 years ago, and the people at that time were the first tool makers, who lived by hunting and gathering. During the new Stone Age the tools had been improved, and pottery was used, and the people practised farming. All the archaeological remains found in Lenggong have been associated with caves, with the exception of Kota Tampan and Bukit Jawa. There remain Peninsular Malaysia's only Palaeolithic sites.

Gua Gunung Runtuh is situated in Bukit Kepala Gajah or Elephant's Head Hill. In the same hill other caves have yielded archaeological remains such as stone tools and food remnants, but no more skeletons. The caves were probably used as temporary shelters as seasonal or hunting camps, whereas Gua Gunung Runtuh was lived in for longer periods. The next oldest site is Gua Harimau or Tiger Cave. It is about 3 kilometres away from Gua Gunung Runtuh and is an isolated site, and was probably used as a burial ground some 5000 – 3000 years ago.

Seven human skeletons have been found (but no tiger bones), also bronze axes, and various articles of jewellery such as chains, bangles, earrings and bead lockets. The bronze axes show that there was an early Bronze tradition in Malaysia, as well as in north Thailand and China. It is the earliest use of metal in south-east Asia. Porcelain containers of various shapes and sizes were also found containing meat and siput shells (a generic name for snails). Archaeological digs in other caves have revealed pottery, axes stone tools and flakes. Also food remains, and in some sites, human bones. Unfortunately some caves have been disturbed by guano diggers and any remains have therefore been lost.

Gua Puteri is a natural tunnel which pierces Bukit Kajang. There are no archaeological findings here, but instead the cave is known for its legends. Two stalagmites are believed to be a prince and princess who guard the cave. Locals say that if children climb up the stalagmites they will fall sick. Negrito cave drawings have been found at various sites but are not prehistoric, as they are only about 100 years old.

Gua Badak is one of the main places for these drawings, situated about 10 kilometres north of Lenggong. The Negritos are one of the aboriginal tribes of Malaysia. The Lanoh Negrito made the illustrative recordings of their every life. The charcoal drawings were first discovered and documented in the 1920s by Ivor Evans. They were then thought to have been lost by quarrying, but were rediscovered in 1992 and hopefully will now be preserved as a national heritage. Luckily most of the drawings survived the blasting, although some are missing, believed destroyed. And unfortunately modern graffiti covers some of the original drawings.

Unlike cave art at places such as Lascaux in France, which date back some 15,000 years, the Negrito drawings are "modern" art. The Negritos used the caves as shelters during hunting trips. The sketches depict tribal art such as animals, people, trees, mats, and even bicycles and motorcars. Apart from the charcoal drawings, they made white pictures by scrapping away the limestone rock. The drawings are simple, featuring matchstick men. There is a man carrying a pole laden with coconuts. A bow and arrow symbolize the hunting tools which were replaced by the blowpipe. There are men on horses, a man with an elephant, a hunting party. Animals such as leaf monkeys, monitor lizards and porcupine all made for a good meal and were therefore illustrated.

The Lanoh Negritos are still found in Perak today, generally working on rubber and oil palm estates, although some do still hunt. They are formed into six tribes. Most of the old troglodytes or cave dwellers of the Malay Peninsula temporarily lived in caves and rock shelters. They lived mainly by hunting, evidence shown by the remains of animal bones and molluscs. The people may have painted their bodies using red iron oxide. They used stones and slabs for grinding up substances such as salt, and all their tools were made of stones. Flakes were used as knives or scrappers. So it can be seen that the Lenggong area is very important as it contains much evidence relating to the prehistory of Malaysia. It is the oldest area where remains have been found, and all the sites are situated conveniently within a small area.

Perak Man[link]

A road in the lush greenery surrounding Lenggong.

The oldest human skeleton found in Malaysia was in the state of Perak in Peninsular Malaysia. Its exact location is at Gua Gunung Runtuh, a cave of his final resting place situated in Bukit Kepala Gajah or Elephant's Head Hill in the Lenggong Valley of Ulu Perak. The skeleton was a male with a height of approximately 157 cm, aged 50s. It was discovered in 1991 and the skeleton has been dated to around 11,000 years old. In 2004, another skeleton was found at Gua Teluk Kelawar in Lenggong, Perak by a team of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) archaeologists. This time it is a 'Perak woman' of 148 cm in height and was believed to aged 40s.

The Perak Man dates to about 11,000 years before present, and is one of the most complete skeletons for this time period in this region.

He was buried in the fetal position, i.e. with legs tucked towards chest, his right arm touching shoulder and his left arm bent so that his hand would rest on his stomach. Besides that, they found deposits of animal bones at right shoulder, to his left and to his bottom, and deposits of stone tools around the body. They also did not find any other burials in the cave.

Forensically speaking, the Perak Man was probably a man – we can’t tell for sure because his pelvis wasn’t well preserved. That’s the surest way you tell whether a skeleton was male or female, but a lot of the other bones exhibited strong male characteristics so he was probably Perak Man rather than Perak Woman. He shared the characteristics of an australomelanesoid, which is the kind of humans you find in Australia, Papua, Indonesia and some parts of Malaysia. He wasn’t very tall, he stood about 154 cm, which is about 5 feet. The bones that were found deposited near him were identified to have come from wild boar, monkey, monitor lizard and something called the rusa, which is a kind of deer, and are thought to be food deposits. As for the stone tools, there were about ten of them scattered around the body, and most of them were pebble tools and some hammer stones.

There were two significant facts about the Perak Man skeleton. The first was that he had a malformed left hand, meaning his left arm and hand were much smaller compared to his right arm and hand. This deformity could be from a genetic disorder known as brachymesophalangia. This evidence is further supported by the fact that his spine is curved towards the right due to living with only one good hand. The second interesting fact about the Perak Man was that despite his handicap, he lived to be about 45. This is considered a ripe old age for his time period. And especially when you consider that he might have been a hunter-gatherer, with only one good hand you can’t really hunt or gather very well and so living to 45 with that kind of handicap is pretty exceptional.

What does all this tell us about the Perak Man and the society he lived in? One conclusion that the study made was that he must have been a pretty high-up member in that society because the burial was very elaborate. They dug a pit, and then put him into the pit and then placed the food offerings, and then covered him with small shells, and then place more offerings and tools, and then another shell layer, followed by a final dirt layer. That was pretty labour intensive – when there tends to be a lot of labour and a lot of time invested into a burial, it’s not unreasonable to infer that this person was someone of high importance. Also to support that theory, he was 45 years old and he was very old for a person from that time period with a disability as well. If you were in a hunter-gatherer society and you couldn’t hunt very well, people had to take care of you – and people don’t take care of you unless you were respected or there was some sort of hierarchy in place where he was respected. That’s another reason to support the social hierarchy theory. And of course there was burial with grave goods – there were food offerings and tool offerings and that’s another indicator of social hierarchy. People who get buried with burial deposits often tend to be people of higher status.

You just have to think about the pyramids which are basically big tombs, and all the treasures that were entombed in the pyramids to get an idea of social hierarchy. Of course, it’s a bit premature to say all of this about the Perak Man and his society. We should take this with some caution because we don’t have anything to benchmark with.

The sources used for this article was the museum itself and from the book called The excavation of Gua Gunung Runtuh and the Discovery of the Perak Man in Malaysia, edited by Zuraina Majid.

[1] = Museum Lenggong

Perak Woman[link]

Perak Woman was found more recently in 2004. This is an 8000 year old skeleton found in Gua Teluk Kelawar in Lenggong.

Stone tools[link]

An undisturbed stone tool production area where pebble tools were made using equipment such as anvils and hammer stones was excavated at the Kota Tampan archaeological site. The workshop was dated at 75,000 years old.

Cuisine[link]

Lenggong is also famous for its freshwater fish dishes. One local delicacy from freshwater fish is pekasam, where the is fish is marinated in salt and toasted rice, followed by fermentation for two weeks. There's a famous wanton noodles shop that opens only for breakfast, named Loh Dee on the main road of Lenggong, before reaching Shell Petrol Station. The fishball is also a popular item in Lenggong, using quality Saito fish that provides a nice bouncy texture.

See also[link]

• Prehistoric Malaysia

External links[link]

• Perak Man and the Lenggong Archaeological Museum
• Fish dishes of Lenggong
• Centre for Archaeological Research Malaysia
• http://www.museum.gov.my/english/perakman.htm
• http://allmalaysia.info/news/story.asp?file=/2003/10/4/state/6340195&sec=mi_perak

v t e Perak Darul Ridzuan Districts Kinta Larut, Matang dan Selama Hilir Perak Manjung Batang Padang Kerian Kuala Kangsar Hulu Perak Perak Tengah Kampar Cities Ipoh (capital) Towns Alor Pongsu Ayer Tawar Bagan Datoh Bagan Serai Bagan Sungai Burong Banir Batak Rabit Batu Gajah Behrang Bercham Beruas Bidor Bikam Bota Bukit Gantang Bukit Merah Changkat Jering Changkat Keruing Chemor Chenderiang Chenderong Balai Chikus Damar Laut Gerik Gopeng Gua Tempurung Hutan Melintang Jelapang Jenderata Jerlun Kamunting Kampar Kampung Gajah Karai Kota Baharu Kota Setia Kuala Kangsar Kuala Kurau Kuala Sepetang Langkap Lekir Lenggong Lumut Manjoi Malim Nawar Mambang Di Awan Manong Menglembu Padang Rengas Pantai Remis Parit Parit Buntar Pasir Salak Pekan Gurney Pengkalan Hulu (Kroh) Proton City Selama Semanggol Seri Iskandar Seri Manjung Simpang Tiga Sitiawan Slim Slim River Sungai Siput Sungkai Taiping Tambun Tanjung Belanja Tanjung Malim Tanjung Piandang Tanjung Rambutan Tanjung Tualang Tapah Tapah Road Teluk Batik Teluk Intan Teluk Rubiah Temoh Temoh Station Trolak Terong Teronoh Ulu Bernam Villages FELDA Besout Padang Gajah Sayong Kampung Kuala Slim Kampung Pintu Gerbang Islands Pulau Pangkor Pulau Pangkor Laut Pulau Banding Townships Bandar Meru Raya Sunway City Ipoh Special Zones Northern Corridor Economic Region (Northern Perak)

Coordinates: 5°06′N 100°58′E / 5.1°N 100.967°E / 5.1; 100.967

Yang Berhormat Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim MP
Leader of the Opposition of Malaysia Leader of Pakatan Rakyat
Incumbent
Assumed office 28 August 2008
Monarch	Mizan Zainal Abidin Abdul Halim
Prime Minister	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Najib Tun Razak
Preceded by	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Permatang Pauh
Incumbent
Assumed office 28 August 2008
Preceded by	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Majority	15,671
In office 29 March 1982 – 14 April 1999
Preceded by	Zabidi Ali
Succeeded by	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
7th Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
In office 1 December 1993 – 2 September 1998
Monarch	Azlan Shah Tuanku Ja'afar
Prime Minister	Mahathir bin Mohamad
Preceded by	Ghafar Baba
Succeeded by	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Personal details
Born	(1947-08-10) 10 August 1947 (age 64) Cherok Tok Kun, Penang, Malayan Union
Political party	Parti Keadilan Rakyat – PR (2006–present) United Malays National Organisation – BN (1982–1998)
Spouse(s)	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Children	Nurul Izzah Anwar Ehsan Anwar Nurul Nuha Anwar 3 others
Alma mater	University of Malaya
Profession	Politician
Religion	Sunni Islam

Dato' Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim (born 10 August 1947) is a Malaysian politician who served as Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998.

Early in his career, Anwar was a close ally of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad but subsequently emerged as the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government.

In 1999, he was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption, and in 2000, to another nine years for sodomy. In 2004, the Federal Court reversed the second conviction and he was released. In July 2008, he was arrested over allegations he sodomised one of his male aides, but was acquitted of the charge in January 2012.^[1]

On 26 August 2008, Anwar won re-election in the Permatang Pauh by-election and returned to Parliament as leader of the Malaysian opposition. He has stated the need for liberalisation, including an independent judiciary and free media, to combat the endemic corruption that he considers pushes Malaysia close to failed state status.^[2]

Early career[link]

From 1968 to 1971, as a student, Anwar was the president of a Muslim students organisation, Persatuan Kebangsaan Pelajar Islam Malaysia (PKPIM). Around the same time, he was also the president of Persatuan Bahasa Melayu Universiti Malaya (PBMUM). He was one of the protem committee of Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) or Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia which was founded in 1971. He was also elected President of the Malaysian Youth Council or Majlis Belia Malaysia (MBM). In 1974, Anwar was arrested during student protests against rural poverty and hunger. This came as a report surfaced stating that a family died from starvation in a village in Baling, in the state of Kedah, despite the fact that it never happened. He was imprisoned under the Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial, and spent 20 months in the Kamunting Detention Centre.

In 1968–1971, he was first groomed in the National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students (Persatuan Kebangsaan Pelajar Islam Malaysia, PKPIM) as the president of the Union. In 1982, Anwar, who was the founding leader and second president of a youth Islamic organisation called Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM), shocked his liberal supporters by joining the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), led by Mahathir bin Mohamad, who had become prime minister in 1981. He moved up the political ranks quickly: his first ministerial office was that of Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in 1983; after that, he headed the agriculture ministry in 1984 before becoming Minister of Education in 1986. By then, speculation was rife about Anwar's ascent to the Deputy Prime Minister's position as it was a commonly-occurring phenomenon in Malaysia for the Education Minister to assume the position of Deputy PM in the near future.

During his tenure as Education Minister, Anwar introduced numerous pro-Malay policies in the national school curriculum. One of his major changes was to rename the national language from Bahasa Malaysia to Bahasa Melayu. Non-Malays criticised this move as it would cause the younger generation to be detached from the national language, since they would attribute it to being something that belongs to the Malays and not to Malaysians.

U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen (right) meets with Anwar Ibrahim (left) in his Pentagon office.

In 1991 Anwar was appointed Minister of Finance. In 1993, he became Mahathir's Deputy Prime Minister after winning the Deputy Presidency of UMNO against Ghafar Baba. There is report on Anwar using large cash payments to win support. Anwar is alleged to have resorted to money politics to secure his position as deputy president of UMNO. Anwar's followers were witnessed by even foreign journalists handing out packets of money to acquire support of UMNO division leaders. These followers are said to be working under Anwar's instructions.^[3] Anwar was being groomed to succeed Mahathir as prime minister, and frequently alluded in public to his "son-father" relationship with Mahathir; in early 1997, Mahathir appointed Anwar to be acting Prime Minister while he took a two-month holiday.

Towards the end of the 1990s, however, the relationship with Mahathir had begun to deteriorate, triggered by their conflicting views on governance. In Mahathir's absence, Anwar had independently taken radical steps to improve the country's governing mechanisms which were in direct conflict with Mahathir's capitalist policies. Issues such as how Malaysia would respond to a financial crisis were often at the forefront of this conflict.

Anwar's frontal attack against what he described as the widespread culture of nepotism and cronyism within UMNO (and the ruling coalition as a whole) angered Mahathir, as did his attempts to dismantle the protectionist policies that Mahathir had set up. "Cronyism" was identified by Anwar as a major cause of corruption and misappropriation of funds in the country.

Teaching and non-profit work[link]

Since his release from prison, Anwar has held teaching positions at St Antony's College, Oxford, where he was a visiting fellow and senior associate member, at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies in Washington DC as a Distinguished Senior Visiting Fellow, and in 2005–2006 as a visiting professor at the Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim–Christian Understanding in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, where he continues as a Senior Fellow.^[4] In March 2006 he was appointed as Honorary President of the London-based organisation AccountAbility (Institute of Social and Ethical AccountAbility).^[5]

In July 2006, Anwar was elected Chair of the Washington-based Foundation For the Future.^[6] In this capacity, he signed the 1 October 2006 letter to Robin Cleveland of the World Bank, requesting the transfer of the secondment of Shaha Riza from the US Department of State to the Foundation for the Future. This transaction led to Paul Wolfowitz's resignation as president of the organisation.^[7] He was one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You in 2007, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding.

Financial crisis and fall from power[link]

During the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis Anwar, as finance minister, supported the International Monetary Fund (IMF) plan for recovery. He also instituted an austerity package that cut government spending by 18%, cut ministerial salaries and deferred major projects. "Mega projects", despite being a cornerstone of Mahathir's development strategy, were greatly curtailed.

Although many Malaysian companies faced bankruptcy, Anwar declared: "There is no question of any bailout. The banks will be allowed to protect themselves and the government will not interfere." Anwar advocated a free-market approach to the crisis, including foreign investment and trade liberalisation. Mahathir blamed currency speculators like George Soros and supported currency controls and tighter regulation of foreign investment.^[8]

In 1998 Newsweek magazine named Anwar the "Asian of the Year". However, in that year, matters between Anwar and Mahathir came to a head around the time of the quadrennial UMNO General Assembly. The Youth wing of UMNO, headed by Anwar's associate Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, gave notice that it would initiate a debate on "cronyism and nepotism". At the General Assembly, a book, 50 Dalil Kenapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Jadi PM ("50 Reasons Why Anwar Cannot Become Prime Minister") was circulated containing graphic allegations as well as accusations of corruption against Anwar. The book was written by Khalid Jafri, an ex-editor of the government-controlled newspaper Utusan Malaysia and former editor-in-chief of a failed magazine, Harian National. Anwar obtained a court injunction to prevent further distribution of the book and filed a lawsuit against the author for defamation. Police charged the author of the book with malicious publishing of false news.^[9] Among the allegations in the book was that Anwar is homosexual. The police were instructed to investigate the veracity of the claims. In what the Sydney Morning Herald termed a "blatantly political fix-up",^[10] Anwar was charged with sodomy and corruption and was convicted of both and given a 15-year prison sentence.

While he was in police custody in 1998, Anwar was beaten by the then Inspector General of Police, Rahim Noor. Rahim was subsequently found guilty of assault and jailed for two months in 2000. He made a public apology to Anwar and paid undisclosed damages.^[11]

In 1999, Anwar brought suit against Prime Minister Mahathir for defamation for allegedly uttering accusations of immoral acts and calling Anwar a homosexual at a news conference in Malaysia.^[12]

Release from prison[link]

The sodomy verdict was partially overturned in 2004, resulting in Anwar's release from prison as he had already served his sentence for the corruption offence.^[13] The original author of the book died in 2005 of complications from diabetes but not before the High Court found that he had committed libel and awarded Anwar millions of ringgit in compensation.^[14] The Federal Court on 8 March 2010 ruled that the 1998 dismissal of Anwar from his Cabinet posts by Mahathir was constitutional and valid, meaning Anwar had failed in his bid to challenge his sacking.^[15][16][17]

Although the point was by now moot, an appeal on the corruption charges was heard on 6 September 2004. Under Malaysian law a person is banned from political activities for five years after the end of his sentence. Success in this appeal would have allowed him to return to politics immediately. On 7 September, the court agreed to hear Anwar's appeal. However, on 15 September, the of Court of Appeal ruled unanimously that its previous decision to uphold a High Court ruling that found Anwar guilty was in order, relegating Anwar to the sidelines of Malaysian politics until 14 April 2008. The only way for Anwar to be freed from this stricture would have been for him to receive a pardon from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Return to politics[link]

In November 2006, Anwar announced he planned to run for Parliament in 2008, after his disqualification expired. Anwar has been critical of government policies since his release from prison, most notably of the controversial New Economic Policy (NEP), which provides affirmative action for the Bumiputras. The policy sets a number of quotas, such as for units of housing and initial public offerings, that must be met.^[18]

Before he became re-entitled to run for Parliament in 2008, he acted as an "advisor" of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, the party of which his wife Dr. Wan Azizah is president. He was in the forefront in organising a November 2007 mass rally, called the 2007 Bersih Rally, which took place in the Dataran Merdeka Kuala Lumpur to demand clean and fair elections. The gathering was organised by BERSIH, a coalition comprising political parties and civil society groups, and drew supporters from all over the country.

The 2008 election date, however, was set for 8 March 2008, sparking criticisms that Barisan Nasional called for early elections in a bid to deny Anwar's plans for a return to Parliament. In response, Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, declared that she would step down should she retain her Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat to force a by-election in which Anwar himself would contest.^[19]

The 'Big Three Of Pakatan Rakyat'. (From left: Lim, Anwar, Abdul Hadi)

When asked about the possibility of Anwar becoming the next Prime Minister, former leader Tun Dr. Mahathir reacted by saying, "He would make a good Prime Minister of Israel".^[20]

On 14 April 2008, Anwar celebrated his official return to the political stage, as his ban from public office expired a decade after he was fired as Deputy Prime Minister. One of the main reasons the opposition seized a third of parliamentary seats and five states in the worst ever showing for the Barisan Nasional coalition that has ruled for half a century, was due to him leading at the helm.^[21] A gathering of more than 1,000 supporters greeted Anwar in a rally welcoming his return to politics. Police interrupted Anwar after he had addressed the rally for nearly two hours and called for him to stop the gathering since there was no legal permission for the rally.^[22]

On 29 April 2008, after 10 years of absence, he returned to the Parliament, albeit upon invitation as a spouse guest of Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, People's Justice Party and the first female opposition leader in Malaysian Parliament's history.^[23]

Permatang Pauh by-election[link]

Anwar Ibrahim was victorious in the Permatang Pauh by-election held on 26 August 2008. Muhammad Muhammad Taib, information chief of the UMNO, stated: "Yes of course we have lost . . . we were the underdogs going into this race."^[24] Anwar won by a large majority against Arif Shah Omar Shah of the Barisan Nasional coalition, according to Election Commission officials.^[25] Reuters reported "Anwar Ibrahim has won with a majority of 16,210 votes"; according to news website Malaysiakini, Anwar won 26,646 votes, while the government's Arif Omar won 10,436 votes.^[26] People's Justice Party spokeswoman Ginie Lim told the BBC: "We won already. We are far ahead."^[27]

Final results announced by the Election Commission revealed that Anwar Ibrahim won 31,195 of the estimated 47,000 votes cast in the district, while Arif Shah Omar Shah received 15,524 votes and a third candidate had 92 votes.^[28][29]

On 28 August 2008, Anwar, dressed in a dark blue traditional Malay outfit and black "songkok" hat, took the oath at the main chamber of Parliament house in Kuala Lumpur, as MP for Permatang Pauh at 10.03 am before Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia. He formally declared Anwar the leader of the 3-party opposition alliance. With his daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar, also a parliamentarian, Anwar announced: "I'm glad to be back after a decade. The prime minister has lost the mandate of the country and the nation."^[30][31] At that time Anwar needed 30 government lawmakers to defect to the Opposition in order to form the next government.^[32][33][34]

Member of Parliament[link]

Anwar Ibrahim speaks at an election campaign

Petition against Najib Razak[link]

Anwar continued to attack Najib first day as prime minister, stating he found inconsistencies in the latter's decision to release 13 Internal Security Act detainees. He said as long as the ISA existed, Barisan Nasional could still detain citizens at will.^[35]

Struggle to assemble a majority coalition[link]

Anwar has already missed several deadlines he himself set for the transfer of power, each of which came and went: the most recent was Tuesday 16 September 2008.^[36] Anwar said he would need more time, and the recalibration of his message has not gone unnoticed: Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak chose that day to initiate a broadband internet program Anwar opposes, saying that he had not doubted that the government would still be in office on 16 September.^[37] Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi too pointed out that Anwar had missed his own deadline, and dismissed his claim to have secured the defection of 30 MPs.^[38]

By 25 September Anwar had still not amassed enough votes, creating doubts for Malaysians about whether he was really ready to take power,^[39] particularly in light of his failure to meet his own 16 September deadline for the transition of power. In the interim, UMNO had its own party meeting^[40][41] to broker Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's step down from power in June 2009, a year earlier than previously promised^[42]

On 24 October 2008, Anwar admitted problems with his stalled bid to topple the UMNO's majority, saying that Pakatan Rakyat is running out of options to create a majority.^[43] His "credibility among ordinary Malaysians has been somewhat dented after Sept 16 and the new promise of forming the Government has not generated the sort of anticipation or excitement as before."^[44] Media within the country have taken an increasingly hostile view towards Anwar's protestations and failed threats to assemble a majority government.^[45]

On 30 March 2010, Anwar Ibrahim alleged in the Dewan Rakyat the 1Malaysia was mirrored after “One Israel” concept and designed by Mindteams Sdn Bhd, a branch in Malaysia of Apco Worldwide, an international public relations company engaged by the Malaysian government that also created the One Israel concept in 1999 for then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.^[46] Barisan Nasional government has claimed it was false and its lawmakers have tabled a motion to censure Anwar for misleading the Parliament over his 1Malaysia-One Israel allegations which was passed by the Parliament on 22 April 2010.^[47]

2008 allegations of sodomy[link]

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On 29 June 2008, online news portal Malaysiakini reported that an aide of Anwar Ibrahim had lodged a police report claiming that he had been sodomised by Anwar.^[48] Anwar said that the possibility of a prison sentence as a result of the allegations could be seen as an attempt to remove him from the leadership of the opposition following his growing support and by-election victories. He also reaffirmed his innocence and cited evidence in the form of medical reports.^[2] Anwar was found not guilty on 9 January 2012, almost two years after the trial started. The presiding judge Justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah found that the DNA evidence submitted by the prosecution was unreliable, and acquitted Anwar.^[49] Eleven days later, the prosecution filed an appeal against the acquittal.^[50]

Hidden sex tape allegation[link]

On 21 March 2011 a sex video appeared which claimed to feature Anwar Ibrahim. A day after that, Anwar Ibrahim denied his involvement in the incident and filed a police complaint.^[51] The police are currently conducting investigations against a trio of men dubbed the Datuk T trio, who screened the sex video in the first place. They are former Malacca chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik, businessman Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah and former Perkasa treasurer Datuk Shuaib Lazim.^[52][53]

Salahuddin Ayub vice president of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party ruled out suspending ties with Pakatan Rakyat stating that,"Everything is wrong about the whole scandal. The way the video was revealed was wrong and watching it is wrong. Islam does not accept this,".^[54] However the chief of PAS's Ulama council has stated that if the video is authentic they would consider reviewing ties with PKR.^[54] Lim Kit Siang, head of the Democratic Action Party stated that the Barisan Nasional reached "new depths in character assassination" and that the scandal was manufactured just in time for the Sarawak Elections.^[54] Chairman of UMNO's youth wing, Khairy Jamaluddin stated that the Barisan National never said that it was Anwar in the video, and that it was odd that the opposition automatically took a defensive attitude.^[55] Barisan Nasional MP, Abdul Rahman Dahlan stated that the matter should remain personal, and not be used for political purposes.^[55] On 4 April, part of the sex clip with a running time of nearly two minutes, was leaked online on anti-PKR blogsites and YouTube. A second part of the sex video was released on YouTube and a pro-UMNO blog website.^[56][57] The police and the government have been criticised for their slow response by the opposition in prosecuting the culprits who showed the sex video.

Remarks on Israel, APCO and 1Malaysia[link]

Anwar has made numerous remarks about a supposed conspiracy among the Malaysian government, APCO (a public relations firm retained by the Malaysian government), Israel, and the United States. Anwar has condemned the Malaysian government for seeking advice from APCO. He claims that the firm is linked to the “murder of Muslims in Palestine.” He further claims to have given proof that APCO is a front for the Israeli government to a disciplinary committee of the Malaysian parliament investigating his comments. On another occasion, Anwar, speaking from the parliament, claimed that the firm was controlled by Jews and working on behalf of the American government to influence Malaysian foreign policy. He further implied that changes in Malaysian foreign policy could only be explained if Jews were manipulating Malaysia for the United States.^[58]

On 22 April 2010 Anwar was censured by Malaysia's parliament for remarks he made during a press conference in parliament on 30 March 2010. During the press conference, Anwar claimed to have documents linking 1Malaysia, One Israel, and the public relations firm APCO but refused to allow access to the documents when challenged^[46] The Malaysian government and APCO have both strongly denied Anwar's allegations. The censure motion passed by the House of Representatives referred Anwar's case to the Rights and Privileges Committee which will recommend a punishment for approval by the full chamber. Such punishment could include being banned from parliament.^[47][59][60] However Anwar retaliated against the Malaysian government attacks by producing the two documents to back up his statements and refute the government's denials of links between APCO and 1Malaysia.^[59][60]

In a press conference at the London School of Economics Anwar made comments about Zionists and "nasty Jews". In the press conference he also stated that, "There are good Jews, there are bad Jews, there are good Muslims and bad Muslims."^[61]

In May 2010, B'nai B'rith International, a prominent Jewish human rights organisation condemned Anwar in a letter to the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, claiming that Anwar was a "purveyor of anti-Jewish hatred" and asked the American government to suspend all contact with Anwar.^[62]

In Malaysia, Anwar has often been mocked for having "Jewish friends." Najib's mentor and predecessor, Mahathir, even went so far as to say Anwar "would make a good prime minister for Israel." In return, Anwar seized Najib's hiring of APCO as a chance to issue inflammatory remarks on the firm's supposed ties to Israel.

2012 Security Comments[link]

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Anwar Ibrahim stated, "I think our policy should be clear--protect the security [of Israel] but you must be as firm in protecting the legitimate interests of the Palestinians."^{[citation needed]}

This comment sparked an array of criticism from Malaysia's ruling party, UMNO. UMNO member of parliament, Khairy Jamaluddin, stated that Anwar's comments "show a blanket support for anything Israel does" and that "The issue of Palestine is a top foreign policy priority for my party, it would be an issue during the election year or otherwise ... timing doesn’t matter.".^[63]

Former Prime Minister Mohammad said he was not surprised by Anwar's comments, and stated with regard to Ibrahim's relationship with the Jewish community, "You can't be friendly with them and against them".^[64]

The opposition party PAS stated that it would respond to Anwar's comments on February 12.^[65]

In response, Anwar stated, "I am issuing a stern warning to anyone trying to twist my statement just so that they can say that I have betrayed the aspirations of the Palestinian people" and that his party's stance is "is to defend the rights of whoever it is that has been victimized".^[66]

Personal life[link]

Anwar was born in Cherok Tok Kun, a village on the mainland side of the northern Malaysian state of Penang, to a local hospital porter, Ibrahim Abdul Rahman (later to join politics and retire as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health) and Che Yan, a housewife (and later UMNO politician). He undertook his secondary education at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar. He was educated at the University of Malaya, where he read Malay Studies.

He is married to Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and they have four daughters and a son. His eldest daughter, Nurul Izzah Anwar, is also a member of Parliament.

Publications and speeches[link]

Articles

• "Radical Islam in Southeast Asia" (password required) Far Eastern Economic Review, November 2006, 60th Anniversary Issue. Published in Arabic^[67][68][69] and in al-Bayane al-Youm (Morocco) on 1 January 2007.
• "Accountability and the Future of Freedom" Islamica Magazine, Issue No. 16, Winter 2006.
• "Universal Values and Muslim Democracy" Journal of Democracy, July 2005. Published in Arabic^{[70][71][72][73][74][75]}
• "Political Accountability and the Moral Imperative" Accountability Forum, Issue 7, Fall 2005
• "On Shah Wali Allah's Socio-Political Thought and Ibn Hazm's Kitab al-Fasl fi al-Milal wa al-Ahwa' wa al-Nihal." In Islamic Studies, Vol. 43, No. 2, 371–377.
• "The Quest for Social Justice" Global Agenda Magazine, January 2005

Op-ed

• "A Test for the West in Turkey" Washington Post, 6 July 2007, A15. Published in Arabic^{[76][77][78][79][80]}
• "Seeing the Bigger Picture". Accountability. 21 December 22, 2006. Published in Arabic^[81][82]
• "Malaysian Mudslinging" Wall Street Journal, 3 October 2006
• "Cultivating the Seeds of Democracy" Los Angeles Times, 25 March 2006
• "Whither East Asia" Wall Street Journal, 15 December 2005
• "Destructive Engagement" Asian Wall Street Journal, 15 June 2005^[83]
• "Democratic Contagion Hits ASEAN Countries" New Perspectives Quarterly, Spring 2005
• "A passion for freedom" The World in 2004, The Economist
• "Who Hijacked Islam?" Time 8 October 2001

Speeches

• "Anwar Ibrahim on Egypt and Tunisia" Asia Society, 8 February 2011, New York City
• "The Central Role of Governance and Accountability in Achieving Development Goals in the 21st century" Inter-American Development Bank Forum on the Americas, 7 December 2006, Washington DC.
• “The Challenges of Islam and Democracy” University of Chicago, 8 November 2006.
• "Democracy and the Muslim World" Stanford University, 11 October 2006.
• "Democracy, Human Rights, and the Destiny of Southeast Asia" Severyns-Ravenholt Lecture at the University of Washington, 10 October 2006
• "Islam & Democracy" Center for Democratic Institutions Annual Address, Canberra, Australia, 20 July 2006.
• "Between Tyranny and Freedom: A Brief Voyage with the Bard" World Shakespeare Congress, Brisbane, Australia, 19 July 2006^[84]
• "Accountability and the Future of Freedom" Presidential Fellows Lecture at the World Bank in Washington DC 19 June 2006
• "Islam and Democracy" Keynote address at World Movement for Democracy Fourth Assembly, Istanbul, Turkey, 2 April 2006
• "Freedom or Sharia" Columbia University, 30 January 2006
• "The Future of Muslim Democracy" 1 December 2005
• "The Challenges of Islam and Democracy" Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, 7 November 2005
• "The United States and the Muslim World" Asia Society Keynote Address delivered at SAIS in Washington DC, 18 April 2005
• "Between Force and Persuasion" Keynote Address at Inaugural Session of the Conference "Inter-Civilisational Dialogue in a Globalising World", New Delhi, India, 8 April 2005
• Anwar Ibrahim's speeches from 1990s posted at The Institute for Policy Research
• UNESCO General Council On the occasion of Anwar Ibrahim's election to the presidency of the 25th Session, Paris, 17 October 1989

Media and news[link]

Interviews

• "Interview with Anwar Ibrahim" The Diplomat, 9 September 2009
• "A Talk with Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim" BusinessWeek, 10 April 2007.
• "Anwar’s ‘new’ agenda" The Star, 8 April 2007.
• "Malaysian Pledges to Defy Ban on His Return to Politics" Washington Post, Page A14, 5 April 2007.
• "Anwar Ibrahim: An Optimist of Freedom and Democracy" The Jakarta Post, 31 January 2007.
• "Islam and Democracy" A discussion with Saad el-Din Ibrahim" "One-on-One" hosted by Riz Khan, Al-Jazeera English, 30 November 2006
• Bloomberg News Interview with Kathleen Hayes Bloomberg TV, 29 November 2006
• "Saying no to corruption" Fortune Magazine, 23 October 2006
• "Anwar returns: the public reinvention of Malaysia's former deputy PM" Radio Free Australia, 24 July 2006
• "Anwar bin Ibrahim's political rollercoaster"] Worldview Magazine, Summer 2006, Issue 42.
• "Islam in Southeast Asia" Interview by Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, 7 April 2006
• Foreign Exchange interview hosted by Fareed Zakaria (Scroll to middle of page for transcript) 4 November 2005
• Interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty From the "Forum 2000" Meeting in Prague, 11 October 2005
• "HardTALK" with Stephen Sackur, 2005

Articles

• "Democracy for Muslims?" The Stanford Daily, 12 October 2006
• "Anwar's return" The Economist, 24 August 2006
• "An ode to democracy delivered by Anwar Ibrahim" UQ News Online, 27 July 2006
• "Anwar Ibrahim a possible candidate for UN Secretary-General" ABC News, 19 July 2006
• "Anwar Ibrahim on comeback trail" Al-Jazeera English, 28 November 2005
• "Voice of moderate Islam wins support" The Sunday Times, 2 October 2005
• "Anwar Ibrahim asked to apply for top UN job" Sydney Morning Herald 28 June 2006
• "An Unlikely but Eager Voice Between Islam and the West" Washington Post 2 September 2005
• Asean News Network 22 September 2004 Malaysia's Ruling Party Members Urged to Shun Anwar Ibrahim.
• "Anwar Ibrahim free at last" Economist.com Global Agenda Magazine, 7 September 2004
• "Anwar Ibrahim's long shadow" The Economist, 3 April 2003

References[link]

Other references[link]

• Kamarudin, Raja Petra (7 November 2005). "The stuff politicians are made of". Malaysia Today. Archived from the original on 23 January 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080123213754/http://www.malaysia-today.net/MMblues/2005/11/stuff-politicians-are-made-of.htm. Retrieved 17 July 2008. 
• Kamarudin, Raja Petra (9 November 2005). "The Anwar Factor". Malaysia Today. http://web.archive.org/web/20071215090700/http://www.malaysia-today.net/loonyMY/2005/11/anwar-factor.htm. Retrieved 17 July 2008. 
• Yeoh, Oon (6 December 2005). "The return of Anwar Ibrahim". Malaysia Today. Archived from the original on 5 June 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080605075437/http://www.malaysia-today.net/Blog-e/2005/12/return-of-anwar-ibrahim.htm. Retrieved 17 July 2008. 

• Shari, Izatun (30 June 2008). "Najib denies involvement in Anwar sodomy allegation". The Star. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/30/nation/20080630150522&sec=nation. Retrieved 17 July 2008. 

• "Anwar challenges PM and DPM to debate on fuel prices". The Star. 6 June 2008. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/7/6/nation/20080706233209&sec=nation. Retrieved 17 July 2008. 

External links[link]

• Profile: Anwar Ibrahim

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Anwar Ibrahim

• Interview with Anwar Ibrahim: "We Face a Deficit of Democracy in Malaysia"

Home pages[link]

• Anwar Ibrahim Home Page
• Anwar Ibrahim Blog

Affiliations and appointments[link]

• Senior Fellow in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University,Washington D.C.
• Honorary President, AccountAbility

v t e Deputy Prime Ministers of Malaysia Abdul Razak Ismail Abdul Rahman Hussein Onn Mahathir Mohamad Musa Hitam Ghafar Baba Anwar Ibrahim Abdullah Badawi Najib Tun Razak Muhyiddin Yassin