Malaysia: Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim Named PM

Malaysia's top court overturned Anwar's sodomy conviction in 2004, a year after Mahathir stepped down as prime minister after more than two decades in power.

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Anwar formed a rival coalition to the UMNO-led Barisan government, which was gaining ground until he was imprisoned a second time for sodomy.

He did not give up and made peace with Mahathir, who came out of retirement in 2018 to challenge incumbent Najib Razak, who was embroiled in the billion-dollar 1MDB financial scandal.

Mahathir became prime minister for the second time in 2018, spectacularly toppling the UMNO-led alliance. Anwar was pardoned and there was an agreement to hand over the premiership to him later. However, Mahathir did not fulfill that pact, and Anwar was denied power again.

Meanwhile, Muhyiddin's National Alliance bloc, which had been supporting the government, teamed up with the UMNO to take power in a fractious government.

Muhyiddin resigned after 17 months amid internal rivalries and the king chose UMNO leader Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who called the latest election, as prime minister in 2021.

Sources: AFP, AP, Reuters, dpa, DW