Anwar Ibrahim still has an important role to play in the opposition and shaping the future of Malaysia, said Amanah president Mohamad Sabu.

However, he said it is the youth who must lead the charge in transforming the country, for the betterment of future generations.

"Anwar is still necessary because he is an important factor in Pakatan Harapan. But we need a change of mindset among the public.

"The youth must help to make this change. Anwar's (generation) and the youth now are too far apart [...] The youth have to place themselves (as agents of change)

"If they don't make sacrifices for future generations, we will be stuck where we are forever," Mohamad told Malaysiakini in an interview yesterday.

Mohamad, who is better known as Mat Sabu ( photo ), said this when asked how long will Harapan peg its hopes on Anwar, despite the former opposition leader being behind bars.

Anwar has been in prison for a year after the Federal Court upheld that he was guilty of sodomy. He still has four more years to serve.

Stop being fanatics

Meanwhile, Mohamad admitted that support for the opposition is waning. He blamed this on conflicts in the opposition, which he said was caused by some fanatics who placed their party above the people.

"For example, when Bersih was being held, some said there was no need to go. Instead they organised an anti-Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement rally. There's no unity because some value the party more than the people. This has to stop.

"Political parties are tools for us to do work, there's no need to be fanatical. You have to fight for the truth, right against wrong, good versus evil," he said.

While he named no names, it appears to be veiled criticism of his former party, PAS.

PAS did not mobilise its members to attend the Bersih 4 rally last year. The Islamist party went on to dominate an anti-TPPA rally last month, albeit in far smaller numbers compared to the Bersih rally.

Mohamad, who was former PAS deputy president, left the party after the ulama faction aligned to party president Abdul Hadi Awang voted out all the progressive leaders in PAS last year.