Former Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim swept to victory in a by-election Saturday, paving the way for him to ascend to the post of prime minister of Malaysia.
Malaysian media reported that Anwar garnered 72 per cent of the votes at the Port Dickson by-election.
“This victory is an important milestone and a vote of confidence for the Pakatan Harapan government and the reform agenda and the prime minister personally,” said Anwar at a press conference after the results were announced.
He said he had also informed Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of his win and that the latter was “very proud” of the outcome.
“I just phoned Mahathir to inform him, and he feels very proud of the results,” he said.
The 71-year-old president of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), the core component of the coalition government, will be sworn in as an MP on Monday, bringing him a step closer to fulfilling the agreement by Pakatan Harapan to eventually make him Malaysia’s eighth prime minister, after Tun Mahathir Mohamad.
