The Malay Mail Online
February 13, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 ― Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s incarceration is detrimental to Malaysia as a weakened opposition reduces Umno’s motivation to reform, The Economist wrote today.
Calling it a “setback for the whole country”, the London-based business magazine pointed out that the opposition leader’s absence bolster’s the ruling coalition that is already “becoming a mere shell for an Umno ever more beholden to Malay-nationalist forces”.
In Election 2013, Umno reinforced its dominance over Barisan Nasional by winning more seats owing to rural Malay voters even as its partners suffered from reduced support from other ethnic communities.
“Mr Anwar, a political chameleon whose real beliefs are sometimes hard to pin down, has many critics, but he could at least credibly lead a coalition that bridges Malaysia’s ethnic divides.
“That is why his incarceration is a dark day not just for Malaysia’s opposition, but for Mr Najib and the country itself,” it wrote. Continue reading “The Economist: Umno will backslide with Anwar out of the way”