Speaker

Anwar Ibrahim

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (born 10 August 1947) is a Malaysian politician. He is a founder and leading figure of the People’s Justice Party (Parti KeADILan Rakyat). Anwar served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1993 to 1998 and Finance Minister from 1991 to 1998 when he was a member of UMNO, the major party in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. However, he was removed from his post by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and jailed. His prosecution has been criticised by human rights groups and several foreign governments, including the US, UK and Australia. Following his release in 2004, Anwar became the leading figure in the opposition and helped coalesce the opposition parties into the Pakatan Rakyat, which contested the 2008 and 2013 general elections. In 2015, Anwar was again jailed for five years. Anwar Ibrahim is a widely respected leader for human rights, religious tolerance and democratic reform. He has worked widely in the not-for-profit area and held teaching positions in major universites around the world.