Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who was recently relieved of a jail sentence, had ‘taken a leaf from the pages’ of former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed, his daughter has said.
Nurul Izzah Anwar said this responding to a tweet Nasheed sent out to congratulate her father on being released of said jail term, which his supporters say was the result of unfair judicial proceedings.
Anwar was convicted of an 11-year jail term on sodomy charges but received a royal pardon this month. Anwar’s release is considered one of the biggest successes of the Malaysia’s recently elected government.
Incumbent Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s electoral win was welcomed vocally by the Joint Opposition, a coalition of local opposition parties – one of which is led by Nasheed, and multiple parallels were drawn between Maldivian and Malaysian political spheres.