A failed "father-son" relationship sours hopes for democracy in both Malaysia and the region. The feud between Anwar Ibrahim and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has defined Malaysian politics for most of the last two decades. The former is the self-dubbed “reformasi” leader; the latter so resisted reform that he jailed Anwar on trumped-up sex and corruption charges for more than a decade. Yet the unlikely alliance of former enemies, which together in 2018 overthrew a corrupt majority party that had ruled since independence for more than a half-century, was seen as a bright light for all of Southeast Asia. After all, if even these two could make amends in the name of democracy and more transparent government, couldn’t anyone? But barely two years later, that optimism has soured. |