Anwar backs Mahathir’s review of Chinese deals – but not to annoy Beijing

Malaysian democracy icon says that there are legitimate concerns over the transparency of Chinese-linked projects – and that they have been tainted by association with the defeated prime minister Najib Razak

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Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:45pm, 1 Jun 2018Updated: 4:16am, 2 Jun 2018

Malaysia’s reformist icon Anwar Ibrahim has lent his support to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s post-election drive to scrutinise Chinese investment deals signed during the era of the scandal-tainted ex-leader Najib Razak.

But like Mahathir, his mentor-turned-rival-turned-ally, Anwar maintains that the effort is solely aimed at weeding out substandard deals signed by Najib’s government and is not meant to antagonise Beijing.

In an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post two weeks after his release from prison – the new government obtained a royal pardon for him over a sodomy conviction he claims was trumped up by Najib – Anwar stressed his close affinity with China when he was deputy prime minister in the 1990s.

Former prime minister Najib Razak faces the prospect of criminal indictment over his alleged involvement in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB financial scandal. Photo: Xinhua

“China is a major economic power and I think we have to deal with it and we must benefit from its economic might, trading and investments,” Anwar, 70, said in the interview at the headquarters of his Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People’s Justice Party) near Kuala Lumpur.

“But I think the Chinese, I am sure, are smart enough to realise there is a change of government, change of policies, and … the perception that the Chinese [were] involved in these deals needs to be clear.”