ANALYSIS | On Dec 7, one week after Pakatan Harapan's crushing defeat in the Sabah election, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim launched his new book at an upscale bookstore in Kuala Lumpur.

The book, titled “Rethinking Ourselves: Justice, Reform and Ignorance in the Post-Normal Times”, is dedicated to his wife, former deputy prime minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, and he announced that all royalties would be donated to underprivileged students.

This should have been a heartwarming story, but in the current political climate, it felt particularly jarring. It makes Anwar appear...