KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 ― Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim needs to assume leadership of the nation to prevent Malaysia from possibly heading towards doom, an editorial piece from UK-based paper The Guardian said today.

It said that Anwar, despite having faced trumped up charges which saw him being jailed twice, has long been denied the top job of prime minister, adding that it was the Port Dickson MP who blew the lid on the financial issues beleaguering the now defunct 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

“This saw him jailed again under Najib in another travesty of justice. Without someone like Anwar at the helm, there may be dark days ahead not just for Malaysia’s Opposition but the country itself,” the editorial read, referring to his jail term under the then Barisan Nasional (BN) government led by Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

It further pointed out that while Malaysia is currently facing several issues, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, a sharp fall in the value of the nation's oil exports, with unemployment being at a record high, the current government is unable to gather a parliamentary majority, resulting in the lack of power to pass any important emergency laws.

“A new government is needed: either with a fresh election or a different parliamentary coalition. Restoring political stability probably depends on what Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister, does next,” it added.

Political observers told Malay Mail that Anwar’s bid to become Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) prime minister candidate relies on him gaining at least one-third of East Malaysian MPs’ support,

Several political analysts polled by Malay Mail claimed the PKR president lacks support from the voter base in Peninsular Malaysia and if he does try to gain them, it will be difficult to contest with the Opposition and those loyal to now independent MP and former Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) chairman, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

On May 16, 2018, just a week after PH took over, Anwar was granted a full pardon by the then Agong, Sultan Muhammad V at Istana Negara.

He was first charged for sodomy and corruption in 1998, when Dr Mahathir was then prime minister.

Anwar was subsequently charged and jailed a second time for sodomy in 2014, during then prime minister Najib’s administration.