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Why Anwar can’t eat the ‘ultra rich’
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Why Anwar can’t eat the ‘ultra rich’

The PM may want to consider structural changes as opposed to spouting hot takes.

Jun 18, 2024
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Why Anwar can’t eat the ‘ultra rich’
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You’re reading a paid version of The Malaysianist, the newsletter at the intersection of money and power by journalist Emmanuel Samarathisa. 

Powering the newsletter are annual and monthly subscriptions. There’s also an atas tier called founding member where you get all the perks of an annual plan but with extra stuff such as annual report and insights on how this little corner of the internet fared throughout the year.

I also run group or corporate subscriptions if you’re thinking of bulk purchasing for your organisation or company. 

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Today’s wrap covers:

🚧 Roadblocks in PM Anwar’s “ultra-rich” salvo.

💸 The Fomema monopoly (a first in a series by The Malaysianist on migrant services providers in the country).

🛵 Low-profile Penang-based family conglomerate Oriental Holdings.

🛣 MAHB’s “likely” privatisation deal.


Since waltzing into office, Anwar Ibrahim has made the maha kaya (ultra rich) his whipping boy. Just last week the prime minister was at it again, this time reminding the wealthy and powerful that they needed “to remember the roles played by others, such as cleaners and cooks”. 

There’s good reason for Anwar to hold the ultra-rich accountable – there’s a clutch of elite men and women who made their riches and amassed wealth thanks to Malaysia’s crony capitalism.  

For a while Anwar seemed serious. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) went after the likes of former finance minister Daim Zainuddin and mentor-turned-nemesis Mahathir Mohamad. 

The graft buster also took on Anwar’s predecessor, Muhyiddin Yassin, and top politicians and businessmen close to Muhyiddin-led Bersatu.

Failing to recreate the effects of a 1MDB scandal, Anwar ended up looking like someone wanting payback. The MACC, too, has gone to great lengths to defend its independence, even though structurally the agency remained under the purview of the prime minister. 

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