Malaysia PM hopeful Anwar calls for inclusiveness
Malaysia’s opposition leader and prime minister hopeful Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday said if his coalition is elected in the upcoming election, it will champion inclusiveness, warning that further playing up racial issues could potentially lead to an “explosive” result. Anwar told RTHK he is “cautiously optimistic” his Paraktan Harapan coalition will win Saturday’s general election, which sees former leader Najib Razak's graft-tainted ruling party seeking to solidify its grip on power four years after it was dramatically voted out.  The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) suffered a stunning defeat in the Southeast Asian nation's last general elections in 2018 due to voter anger over a multi-billion dollar corruption scandal at state fund 1MDB. But UMNO clawed back to power last year, taking advantage of political infighting in the two governments that succeeded Najib, one of which involved a political alliance between Anwar and his mentor-nemesis Mahathir Mohamad. As part of the the 2018 alliance, which broke the political mold in Malaysia, Mahathir, 97, had become prime minister for the second time and had agreed to hand over the premiership to Anwar later.  Mahathir never fulfilled that pact, and their alliance collapsed after 22 months paving the way for UMNO to return to power. The 75-year-old Anwar, whose political career spans four decades and includes two prison stints, told RTHK’s Mike Weeks he is optimistic his coalition will win Saturday's general election. He said his coalition, which is well ahead in the polls, needs to make Malaysia more cohesive. “We have a role to play here to be able to be more inclusive, to embrace majority Malays, the ethnic Chinese, Indians, and our friends – people in Sabah and Sarawak. Our Paraktan Harapan coalition is very clear on the issue of the need to be more cohesive [and] inclusive. “We cannot continue with this arguing on the issue of race and religion … because potentially, it can be really explosive,” he added. In regard to foreign affairs, Anwar said that China would remain “a very important neighbour”. “We must maintain excellent relations with our neighbours, fortify Asean as a regional forum, and continue to have excellent relations with China because of the huge economic potential." He also highlighted the need to maintain diplomatic and business relations with other countries including India, the United States and EU states. Malaysians go to the polls on Saturday. At stake are 222 seats in the lower house of parliament, to be decided by 21 million registered voters. (Additional reporting by AFP)