Niaz Asadullah, a professor of economics at Monash University Malaysia, said many Malaysians are now sceptical of Anwar’s commitment to cleaning up politics.
“Understandably, Anwar is keen for his anti-corruption campaign to regain momentum,” Asadullah told Al Jazeera.
“For now, the resignation of Izzah Anwar has helped position Anwar as a ‘responsive leader’ who is open to public criticism even if it involves his own family members. But the public pursuit of former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin Anwar, his closest political challenger, presents a bigger and perfect opportunity that may help kill several birds with one stone.”
As Anwar is not directly responsible for investigating crimes or making arrests, some Malaysians will see the MACC’s move as a “bold step” that shows it is “autonomous and empowered to act against the political heavyweights and that no one is ‘too big to jail’ during Anwar’s tenure”, said Asadullah, the Monash University professor.
“In reality, however, this is potentially a veiled attempt to consolidate political power by delegitimising the biggest immediate as well as long-term political threat to Anwar’s unity government.”