Anwar Ibrahim

He was born on August 10, 1947, in Cherok Tok Kun, Bukit Mertajam, Penang, then part of the Malayan Union. His father, Ibrahim Abdul Rahman, was a former member of parliament, and his mother, Che Yan Hussein, was a political organiser in Penang, then under British rule; BritannicaEncyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia Britannica is a general English-language encyclopedia first published in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1768; the name also refers to its publisher, Chicago-based Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. (which presents itself as The Britannica Group). The print edition ended in 2012, and the company’s main businesses since then have been the online encyclopedia Britannica.com, digital education products for schools and libraries, and Merriam-Webster dictionaries.Open the full entry describes him as “the son of politicians.”⁠[1][2][3]

Accounts of his primary schooling differ: Bernama and Sinar Harian say he attended Sekolah Kebangsaan Cherok Tok Kun and Sekolah Stowell; RTM says he started school in 1954 at Sekolah Melayu Sungai Bakap, in the Malay-language stream; Kosmo! says he received his early education at Bukit Mertajam Boys School.⁠[1][4][5][6]

For secondary school he attended Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) in Kuala Kangsar, Perak. RTM says he entered the college in 1960 and was active there in the Malay Language Society and as a debater and speaker; Kosmo! gives his years there as 1960 to 1966.⁠[5][6]

He studied Malay studies (Pengajian Melayu) at Universiti Malaya in Kuala Lumpur and obtained a bachelor’s degree. Accounts of his year of entry differ: Kosmo! gives 1967, RTM and Free Malaysia Today give 1968. Kosmo! says he was president of the university’s Malay Language Society in 1968 and president of the National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students (Persatuan Kebangsaan Pelajar Islam Malaysia, PKPIM) from 1968 to 1971; Free Malaysia Today says he was active in radical student movements during his studies from 1968 to 1971, and Britannica says he began his political career at the university in the late 1960s as an Islamist student leader.⁠[1][6][5][7][2]

Britannica, Free Malaysia Today and the South China Morning Post say he founded (or co-founded) the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia, ABIM) in 1971; RTM gives the year as 1972. Britannica and Bernama say he led the organisation until 1982.⁠[2][7][8][5][1]

RTM says he was president of the Malaysian Youth Council (Majlis Belia Malaysia) from 1974 to 1982; Bernama says he was also a member of the Asian Youth Council, the World Youth Council and the Asia Pacific Regional Committee of the World Assembly of Youth.⁠[5][1]

In 1974 he led students in protests against poverty in Baling, Kedah, and was then detained for the first time under the Internal Security Act (ISA). Accounts of the length of detention differ: the South China Morning Post says 20 months; Kosmo! says “tiga tahun (1974 hingga 1976)” (three years, 1974 to 1976) and that he was released in Kemunting, Perak.⁠[7][8][6]

On February 26, 1980, he married Wan Azizah Wan Ismail; they have six children.⁠[5][4]

In 1982 he joined the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) at the invitation of Mahathir Mohamad, a few months after Mahathir Mohamad had succeeded Hussein Onn as prime minister. That year he was elected member of parliament for Permatang Pauh and then appointed deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.⁠[2][7][1]

He became Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in 1983, Minister of Agriculture in 1984 and Minister of Education in 1986, serving until 1991. In the 1986 election he held Permatang Pauh against Mohamad Sabu of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS).⁠[2][7]

Within the party, RTM says he was head of UMNO Youth until 1987 and became an UMNO vice-president in 1987.⁠[5]

He became Minister of Finance in 1991 and held the post until 1998. Bernama and Sinar Harian say he was named Asia’s best finance minister in 1996.⁠[2][1][4]

In 1993 he became deputy prime minister while remaining finance minister, holding both posts until 1998; the South China Morning Post says he was 46 when Mahathir Mohamad named him deputy prime minister. Free Malaysia Today says he became deputy prime minister after defeating Ghafar Baba for the UMNO deputy presidency that year, amid accusations of “money politics”; RTM says he was elected UMNO deputy president in 1990.⁠[2][8][7][5]

In 1997 he served as acting prime minister: the South China Morning Post gives the period as three months, while Kosmo! says it was during Mahathir Mohamad’s two-month leave.⁠[8][6]

During the Asian financial crisis he clashed with Mahathir Mohamad over how to carry out economic recovery measures; Free Malaysia Today says Mahathir Mohamad brought back Daim Zainuddin as an adviser, a move seen as undermining his team. Malaysiakini’s timeline says an accusation of sexual misconduct against him was raised with Mahathir Mohamad in early 1997, and that Mahathir Mohamad said publicly in July 1997 that the allegations were untrue.⁠[2][7][9]

In June 1998 a book titled “50 reasons why Anwar cannot become PM,” which claimed he was homosexual, circulated among UMNO delegates; Free Malaysia Today says the book was banned and the police said its claims were false.⁠[9][7]

On September 2, 1998, he was dismissed as deputy prime minister and finance minister on moral grounds; on September 3, Mahathir Mohamad removed him as UMNO deputy president, and he was then expelled from the party. He called the allegations a politically motivated conspiracy and toured the country calling on Mahathir Mohamad to resign; large protests under the banner “Reformasi” (reform) followed, backed by PAS, the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and civil society groups. Mahathir Mohamad denied framing him and said he was morally unfit to succeed him.⁠[7][9][3][10]

On September 14, 1998, his adopted brother Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja and his Pakistani friend Munawar Ahmad Anees were arrested; on September 19, each was sentenced to six months in jail after admitting that they had allowed him to sodomise them.⁠[9]

On September 20, 1998, masked police burst into his home in Kuala Lumpur during a press conference and arrested him under the Internal Security Act. In custody he was assaulted by the then national police chief, Abdul Rahim Noor, and he appeared in court with a black eye; on September 29 he was charged with ten counts of corruption and abuse of power.⁠[7][11][9]

On January 5, 1999, the attorney-general blamed the police for his injuries in custody; on January 7 Abdul Rahim Noor resigned as police chief; on January 27 the government announced a royal commission of inquiry. On March 2 Abdul Rahim Noor admitted before the commission to “slapping” him while he was blindfolded and handcuffed; on April 6 the commission recommended action against only one police officer; on April 22 Abdul Rahim Noor was charged with attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, and on March 15, 2000, he was sentenced to two months in jail and a RM2,000 fine; on April 30, 2001, the Court of Appeal rejected his appeal.⁠[9]

In 1999 his wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, became president of the newly formed Parti Keadilan Nasional; the party later merged with Parti Rakyat Malaysia to form Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).⁠[7]

The corruption case was transferred to the Kuala Lumpur High Court on November 2, 1998, with four initial charges under the Emergency Ordinance. During the trial, defence lawyer Zainur Zakaria was jailed for three months for contempt on November 30, 1998; on January 13, 1999, the prosecution amended the charges so that they no longer depended on proving the sexual-misconduct allegations, and the next day the related evidence was expunged; on March 16 the trial judge, Augustine Paul, rejected his application to have the judge disqualified.⁠[9]

On April 14, 1999, High Court judge Augustine Paul delivered a 394-page ruling convicting him on all four corruption counts and sentenced him to six years in prison. The charges alleged that in 1997 he had directed the police to obtain retractions from two people who had accused him of sex crimes; the judge said he had abused high political office and deserved stiff punishment even though no money was involved. The conviction could keep him out of parliament or government office for five years after his release. In court he said “This is an absolute disgrace” and “The charges are part of a political conspiracy to destroy me,” and vowed to appeal.⁠[12][9]

Amnesty International declared him a prisoner of conscience and demanded his immediate release; on the day of the verdict his supporters clashed with police in Kuala Lumpur, the police used water cannon, and 18 people were arrested. The Court of Appeal affirmed the corruption conviction on April 29, 2000, and the Federal Court delivered judgment on his corruption appeal on July 10, 2002; when he was freed in 2004, the corruption conviction still stood.⁠[12][9][13]

On June 7, 1999, he and his adopted brother Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja went on trial in the Kuala Lumpur High Court on charges of sodomising Azizan Abu Bakar, the family’s former driver, one night between January and March 1993; the prosecution twice amended the year in the charges. On April 21, 2000, the judge ruled that Mahathir Mohamad need not testify, finding no proof of his involvement in a conspiracy.⁠[9][14][10]

In August 2000, High Court judge Arifin Jaka convicted him and Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja of sodomy, saying “I’m satisfied the prosecution has proven its case against both accused beyond reasonable doubt.” He was sentenced to nine years, to begin after the six-year corruption sentence that had started in April 1999; Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja was sentenced to six years and four strokes of the cane. Malaysiakini’s timeline dates the verdict August 9, 2000.⁠[10][14][9]

He testified in both trials that Mahathir Mohamad and his associates had framed him in a sex scandal to stave off a possible leadership challenge; defence lawyer Christopher Fernando said he was “shocked, flabbergasted” by the verdict. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said, “We hope for the best and prepare for the worst.” The Court of Appeal later affirmed both men’s convictions.⁠[10][14]

On September 2, 2004, the Federal Court of Malaysia set aside, by two votes to one, the sodomy convictions of him and Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja: the majority was Abdul Hamid Mohamad and Tengku Baharudin Shah Tengku Mahmud, with Rahmah Hussain dissenting. The majority found the evidence of the witness Azizan Abu Bakar on the date of the offence “doubtful,” as he had given three different periods across 1992, 1993 and 1994, and held that Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja’s confession had not been given voluntarily and was inadmissible. He was freed that day after almost six years in prison.⁠[14][15][11]

After his release he said “Thank God it’s over” and credited the new prime minister, Abdullah Badawi, with not interfering with the judiciary. Human Rights Watch called the ruling “an historic moment for the rule of law in Malaysia.” Because the corruption conviction still stood, he was barred from politics for five years from his release.⁠[15][11][1][13]

After his release he held lecturing positions at the University of OxfordUniversity of OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university in Oxford, England, where teaching existed in some form by 1096; it describes itself as the oldest university in the English-speaking world and is organised as a federal system of the university and dozens of self-governing colleges.Open the full entry, Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University; Free Malaysia Today says he spent two years consolidating his party after the 2004 election while holding academic posts in the United Kingdom and the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States is a federal country in North America made up of 50 states, the District of Columbia as the seat of government, and territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam; its capital is Washington, D.C. The Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The 2020 census (April 1, 2020) counted a resident population of 331,449,281, and the 435 seats of the House of Representatives are apportioned among the states on the basis of the census.Open the full entry.⁠[2][7]

In the general election of March 8, 2008, he led the opposition alliance of PKR, PAS and DAP, which won four states and denied the Barisan Nasional its two-thirds majority in parliament; a planned defection of Barisan Nasional MPs to let him form the federal government did not materialise. That year he was named to TIMETIMETIME is an American newsmagazine and media brand founded by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden, which published its first issue on March 3, 1923; it is headquartered in New York and known for its Person of the Year selection and the TIME100 list. Since 2018 it has been personally owned by Marc and Lynne Benioff; its current Chief Executive Officer is Jessica Sibley, and its Editor-in-Chief is Sam Jacobs.Open the full entry magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world; RTM says he is the only Malaysian ever to have been on the list.⁠[7][16][5]

On June 28, 2008, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, a PKR staff member who was then his aide, filed a police report alleging that he had sodomised him on June 26. On August 7 he pleaded not guilty to a sodomy charge and was released on a RM20,000 personal bond.⁠[17][7][18]

After Wan Azizah Wan Ismail vacated the Permatang Pauh seat, he won the by-election on August 26, 2008, with 31,195 votes to 15,524 for the Barisan Nasional candidate Arif Shah Omar Shah, a majority of 15,671, larger than Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s 13,398 in the March election; a third candidate, Hanafi Mamat, received 92 votes. On August 28 he was sworn in as a member of the Dewan Rakyat and became opposition leader, saying, “I was touched and vindicated coming back to Parliament after 10 years.”⁠[1][16][19]

The second sodomy trial opened in the High Court on February 3, 2010, with Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan as the first witness; on August 22, 2011, he made a statement from the dock denying that he had had sex with Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.⁠[17]

On January 9, 2012, High Court judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah acquitted him, finding the DNA samples central to the prosecution’s case unreliable, saying he was not convinced the police had handled them properly and that the court was reluctant to convict on a sexual offence without corroboration. Before the verdict he said, “I hope and pray that they respect the rule of law and not be dictated by the corrupt elite leadership”; afterward he thanked his family and the court and said he would turn to the next election. The prosecution filed its appeal on July 9, 2012.⁠[20][17]

In the 2013 general election the opposition coalition he led, Pakatan Rakyat, won 50.87 percent of the popular vote but not a parliamentary majority, again denying the Barisan Nasional under Najib Razak a two-thirds majority; he retained the Permatang Pauh seat.⁠[3][7][1]

On March 7, 2014, a Court of Appeal panel of Balia Yusof Wahi, Aziah Ali and Mohd Zawawi Salleh unanimously reversed his acquittal, finding that the High Court had failed to “critically evaluate” the evidence of government chemist Seah Lay Hong and had wrongly concluded that an investigating officer’s opening of a sealed bag might have compromised the DNA samples; he was sentenced to five years in prison (the maximum under Section 377B of the Penal Code is 20 years and whipping) and was granted a stay pending appeal on RM10,000 bail.⁠[21][17]

The prosecution was led by the UMNO lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who in arguing for sentence cited his roles as opposition leader, adviser to the Selangor government and prospective candidate for the Kajang state seat; the defence was led by Karpal Singh. In court he said, “It’s [happening] all over again, after 15 years.” Free Malaysia Today says the ruling ended PKR’s plan to make him chief minister (menteri besar) of Selangor.⁠[21][7]

On February 10, 2015, the Federal Court rejected his final appeal and upheld the five-year sentence. Judge Arifin, who read the verdict, said there was “overwhelming evidence” that he had sodomised an aide in 2008 and called the defence’s political-conspiracy claim “an allegation unsubstantiated by any facts whatsoever.” He was led away to begin his sentence at the age of 67; because he had been jailed for more than one year, he lost his Permatang Pauh seat.⁠[22][23][1]

In court he maintained his innocence, calling the charge “a complete fabrication and a political conspiracy to stop my career,” and said, “I will not be silenced. I will fight on for freedom and justice and I will never surrender”; Chief Justice Arifin Zakaria admonished him for “condemning” the court.⁠[23]

The Barisan Nasional government said the same day that “Malaysia has an independent judiciary,” noted that the complaint had been brought by a private individual, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, not by the government, and said “exhaustive and comprehensive due process” had been followed over many years. Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN human rights office, said the office was disappointed and that “the charge in this case should not be a criminal offense”; Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, called the verdict “shameful.”⁠[18][22]

In 2016 Mahathir Mohamad met him for the first time in 18 years, and they agreed to work together to topple Najib Razak’s government; Mahathir Mohamad and other former UMNO leaders, including Muhyiddin Yassin, formed PPBM. In 2017 Mahathir Mohamad was named chairman of Pakatan Harapan and its candidate for prime minister, with a plan to transfer power to him later. Of Mahathir Mohamad, with whom he had reconciled, he said, “I have forgiven him, he has proved his mettle. Why should I harbour any malice towards him?”⁠[7][24]

After Pakatan Harapan won the general election in May 2018, Mahathir Mohamad announced on May 11 that the king had agreed to pardon him. On May 16 the palace stated that, “In line with Article 42 of the Federal Constitution” and on the advice of the Pardons Board of the Federal Territories, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V, had decreed a full pardon for him and that he be released immediately. He left the Cheras Rehabilitation Centre in Kuala Lumpur at about 11:20 a.m., where he had been in hospital under police guard.⁠[2][7][25][26]

He then drove to the palace for an audience with Sultan Muhammad V and was greeted there by the new prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad; he was 70 and Mahathir Mohamad 92. His daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar wrote on Instagram that the pardon was “based on a miscarriage of justice.”⁠[26]

In 2018 he won the Port Dickson parliamentary by-election with a majority of 23,560 and returned to parliament. Accounts of the month differ: Britannica says he was elected in October 2018; Bernama and Sinar Harian place the by-election in the same month as the PKR national congress of November 18, that is, November 2018.⁠[2][4][6][1]

On November 18, 2018, after Wan Azizah Wan Ismail stepped down from the post, he became president of PKR at the party’s national congress.⁠[1][4]

On February 24, 2020, Mahathir Mohamad resigned as prime minister and as chairman of Bersatu, and the Pakatan Harapan government collapsed after 22 months (the political upheaval known as the “Sheraton Move”). He then became chairman of Pakatan Harapan and served as opposition leader under prime ministers Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri Yaakob.⁠[1][4][3]

On July 14, 2021, his former research assistant Muhammed Yusoff Rawther filed a civil suit alleging that he had sexually assaulted him at his residence in Kuala Lumpur on October 2, 2018, and seeking damages. In his statement of defence he called the allegations “utterly false and fabricated,” said that he had been entertaining family and friends at home at the time, and filed a countersuit.⁠[27]

Before the election he said he would “emphasize governance and anti-corruption, and rid this country of racism and religious bigotry.” In the 15th general election on November 19, 2022, he won the Tambun seat in Perak by 3,736 votes over Ahmad Faizal Azumu; Pakatan Harapan won 82 seats, and no coalition won a majority. His daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar lost the Permatang Pauh seat he had first won in 1982.⁠[24][8][1]

Five days after the election, Istana Negara announced that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah, had appointed him the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia under Articles 40(2)(a) and 43(2)(a) of the Federal Constitution; he was sworn in on November 24, 2022.⁠[5][1][2]

On December 19, 2022, the Dewan Rakyat passed a motion of confidence in him by voice vote; the motion was tabled by Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof, and the opposition did not call for a bloc vote. After the election he had pledged to hold the vote to prove his majority in parliament.⁠[28]

In August 2024, MetaMetaMeta (Meta Platforms, Inc.) is a publicly listed American technology company, renamed from Facebook in 2021, that operates social communication, digital advertising, virtual reality, smart glasses and artificial intelligence businesses.Open the full entry removed posts on his Facebook and Instagram accounts expressing condolences for the assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, as well as an Instagram post showing his meeting with a Hamas leader in Doha in May. He wrote on Facebook that it “makes no sense” for a post honouring “a fighter” to be treated as dangerous. The Prime Minister’s Office called Meta’s actions “discriminatory, unjust and a blatant suppression of free expression,” summoned Meta’s representatives and demanded an explanation and an apology.⁠[29]

He hosted Changpeng ZhaoChangpeng ZhaoChangpeng Zhao (commonly abbreviated CZ) is a Canadian entrepreneur and the founder and former chief executive officer of Binance. He entered the Bitcoin industry with a background in trading-systems engineering and founded Binance in 2017; in 2023 he pleaded guilty in the United States to failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program and resigned, personally bearing a $50 million criminal fine and a $150 million CFTC civil penalty, while Binance as a company separately bore billions of dollars in criminal and regulatory settlements; he served four months in prison in 2024 and received a U.S. presidential pardon in 2025. Since then he has mainly been involved in education, investment, and advisory work on digital asset policy.Open the full entry, founder of Binance, in his office, in a meeting also attended by Wong Thean Soon, co-founder of MyEG Services, to discuss Malaysia’s potential as a hub for digital assets and blockchain. On the night of Tuesday, April 22, 2025, he posted on X that he had had a “productive meeting” and wrote, “I welcome continued discussions with agencies such as the Securities Commission, Bank Negara and the Digital Ministry,” to promote “responsible innovation”; he also said, “With the right steps, Malaysia can position itself at the forefront of this transformation.”⁠[30][31]

MalaysiaNow wrote on April 24, 2025, that replies to his post raised Changpeng Zhao’s criminal case in the United States; the article noted that the Securities Commission Malaysia had in 2021 taken enforcement action against BinanceBinanceBinance is a global digital asset trading and multi-asset financial platform launched in 2017 and co-founded by Changpeng Zhao and Yi He. Its business has expanded from spot trading to derivatives, wallets, payments, a public blockchain ecosystem, market data, traditional securities, and artificial intelligence interfaces; its history also includes security incidents, regulatory enforcement across multiple jurisdictions, a 2023 U.S. criminal settlement, and subsequent compliance restructuring.Open the full entry for illegally operating a cryptocurrency exchange in Malaysia, publicly reprimanded Changpeng Zhao, and ordered Binance to disable its website and apps in Malaysia and stop marketing to Malaysian investors. The commission had not responded by the time of publication.⁠[31]

In May 2025, in Muhammed Yusoff Rawther’s civil suit, he applied to have eight questions of law referred to the Federal Court, calling the suit a “manufactured claim” and “politically motivated reputational sabotage”; the questions included whether Articles 39, 40 and 43 of the Federal Constitution give a sitting prime minister qualified immunity. On June 4, 2025, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Roz Mawar Rozain dismissed the application and kept seven trial days between June 16 and June 25. He wrote on Facebook, “This matter has never been about seeking personal immunity or escaping legal scrutiny,” and his lawyer said he would appeal.⁠[27][32][33]

On July 21, 2025, a Court of Appeal bench chaired by Ruzima Ghazali, with Wong Kian Kheong and Lim Hock Leng, stayed the civil suit pending his appeal, stating, “His appeal will be rendered nugatory if the application is disallowed.” His lawyer argued that civil suits against a sitting prime minister should go through a vetting process to guard against politicisation; Muhammed Yusoff Rawther’s lawyer argued that the questions lacked basis in Malaysian jurisprudence and that everyone should be treated equally in court.⁠[33]

After military clashes on the Thailand–Cambodia border, he hosted a meeting in Putrajaya on July 28, 2025, between Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thailand’s acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, which produced a ceasefire and eased border tensions.⁠[34]

On October 10, 2025, speaking in Parliament as prime minister and finance minister on the 2026 Budget, he said the government would mobilise RM470 billion in resources to strengthen the economy against global shocks; the budget, themed “Fourth MADANI Budget: People’s Budget,” is the first under the 13th Malaysia Plan (2026–2030).⁠[35]

On October 26, 2025, during the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet signed the Kuala Lumpur Accord, with him and Donald TrumpDonald TrumpDonald Trump (born 1946) is an American politician and businessman, a Republican who ran the real estate company the Trump Organization and starred in the television series The Apprentice. He served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 and has been the 47th president since 2025.Open the full entry as witnesses who added their signatures. The same day, Timor-Leste was formally admitted as ASEAN’s 11th member at the summit’s opening; he described this as completing a “united and sovereign Southeast Asian family.”⁠[34][36][37]

The 47th ASEAN Summit was held from October 25 to 28, marking the culmination of Malaysia’s one-year chairmanship of ASEAN. David Han Guo Xiong, a research fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, judges that through the summit he elevated Malaysia’s international standing, but that there had been only “minimal progress” in addressing the Myanmar crisis and the South China Sea disputes.⁠[37]

On March 4, 2026, he withdrew his appeal over the bid to refer eight questions of law to the Federal Court; a Court of Appeal panel chaired by Wong Kian Kheong struck out the appeal and ordered him to pay RM50,000 in costs. Muhammed Yusoff Rawther’s civil suit was fixed for case management in the High Court on April 8, 2026.⁠[27]

On March 5, 2026, as prime minister and finance minister, he chaired the 2026 meeting of the National Finance Council at the Ministry of Finance Complex in Putrajaya.⁠[38]

He wrote the preface to the Fiscal Outlook and Federal Government Revenue Estimates 2027, released by the Ministry of Finance on October 9, 2026. In it he said that the COVID-19 pandemic required “extraordinary fiscal intervention,” pushing the deficit to 6.4 percent of GDP in 2021, and proposed better-targeted subsidies and reduced leakage rather than excessive austerity, writing, “Prudence is therefore not an end in itself”; he also called institutional reform central to the fiscal agenda and gave the Government Procurement Act 2026 as an example.⁠[39]

He and Wan Azizah Wan Ismail have six children, among them the politician Nurul Izzah Anwar. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was deputy prime minister in the Pakatan Harapan government in 2018.⁠[5][8][3]

He admires the Philippine revolutionary Jose Rizal, whom he calls “a true Asian renaissance man.” Responding to his daughter’s description of him, he said, “yes … I would say incorrigible.”⁠[3][8]

Ministry of Finance Malaysia: Official website: https://mof.gov.my/ (opens in a new window).⁠[40]

Parti Keadilan Rakyat: Official website: https://keadilanrakyat.org/ (opens in a new window).⁠[41]

X: Public account: https://x.com/anwaribrahim (opens in a new window).⁠[41]

YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AnwarIbrahim_my (opens in a new window).⁠[41]

Instagram: Public account: https://www.instagram.com/anwaribrahim_my/ (opens in a new window).⁠[41]

Facebook: Public account: https://www.facebook.com/anwaribrahim.keadilan (opens in a new window).⁠[41]