ANWAR Ibrahim wasted no time to show his backing for the ruling Pakatan Harapan government last night, displaying his Islamic credentials that included quoting Quranic verses and showing his international appeal.

In a Petaling Jaya rally to celebrate his royal pardon, the de facto PKR leader told thousands of his supporters that he received calls from two important figures in the Muslim world – renowned theologian Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qardawi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – after his release yesterday.

These Islamic credentials will be very useful going forward for the PH government bent on reforms in the executive and judiciary against the significant opposition – the former ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) and the Islamist party PAS.

He had played a similar role when Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad managed to persuade him to join Umno in 1982 and contest the general elections that year. Anwar was then leader of the Islamic youth group Abim and his entry into Umno was seen as a coup, as PAS had also courted him.

Dr Mahathir fired Anwar in 1998 in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis, accusing him of sodomy and power abuse. Anwar was freed years later and had campaigned in the 2008 election with PAS and DAP, where they upset BN, denying the ruling coalition its two-thirds parliamentary majority.

In a twist to the tale, Dr Mahathir and Anwar patched up two years ago while Anwar was serving time for another sodomy offence, which he said was a politically motivated frame-up.

While Anwar was still in jail, Dr Mahathir and his former political foes united to unseat the ruling BN, crushing them in a historic defeat in the May 9 polls last week.

The King pardoned Anwar yesterday, on the eve of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. 

Anwar noted the auspicious date, saying the new government had the task of serving the people and had to be kept honest and accountable.

“The mandate is a responsibility, not a privilege,” he said, adding the people should “bash” the ministers that don’t perform in the new government, except Dr Mahathir to laughter from they crowd.

He also backed his ally, former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng, as the finance minister in the new Mahathir government, repeating the party stand that it supported the appointment but had wanted further discussion.

“It is not easy to be a finance minister. There will lions, bears, elephants and snakes that will come to you. Be careful Guan Eng.

“But that is why we put him (Lim) there. He ensures that all the contracts in Penang are via open tender.” – May 17, 2018.