A meteoric rise and fall in politics
Sacked deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, who lost an appeal today against his conviction and nine-year sentence for sodomy, had an unconventional but meteroric rise in Malaysian politics until his spectacular falling-out with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Born in Penang on August 10, 1947, the hospital porter's son graduated from the University of Malaya and first came to public notice as a firebrand Islamic youth leader.
In 1971, he founded the Muslim Youth Movement, which posed a radical challenge to government values.
In 1974, he was detained under the Internal Security Act for leading a demonstration in support of poor rice farmers and spent 20 months in jail.
For the rest of this story and more, subscribe for only RM150 a year. If you're already a subscriber, please sign in.
Sign in Subscribe now