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Yes, I am a Malay agent, I am a Chinese agent, I am an Indian agent, and I am an agent of the people,' he told the cheering thousands who gathered at the rally in Penang on Sunday.
By Carolyn Hong, The Straits Times
OPPOSITION leader Anwar Ibrahim chose a significant theme to speak about at a rally which he used to launch his campaign to return to Parliament.
'Yes, I am a Malay agent, I am a Chinese agent, I am an Indian agent, and I am an agent of the people,' he told the cheering thousands who gathered at the rally in Penang on Sunday.
It was a clever message, and to Datuk Seri Anwar's credit, also a consistent one. Over the last few years, he has been honing his image as a multiracial leader of Malaysia.
Observers were stunned to see how he won over the normally-reticent rural Chinese voters during a by-election last year in a predominantly Chinese constituency in Malacca.
At his rallies, the Chinese voters chanted his name 'Anwar, Anwar' as if he was a superstar. He won their hearts with his pledge to scrap the controversial policy that favours the Malays in economic and education opportunities.
The opposition candidate lost in that by-election, but Mr Anwar won.
He cemented this image when his Parti Keadilan Rakyat fielded a mixed slate of candidates for the March 8 polls, and championed Ketuanan Rakyat (People's Supremacy) to counter the Malay Supremacy slogan favoured by Umno.
He will be fighting hard to preserve his newly crafted vision of multiracialism as he heads into a by-election in his old Permatang Pauh seat in Penang.
The seat became vacant after his wife Wan Azizah Ismail stepped down last week, forcing the government to hold a by-election.
Most analysts predict an easy win for Mr Anwar, but a top editor in the influential New Straits Times daily, Datuk Syed Nadzri Harun, wrote that there will be some challenges, among them on the race front.
He noted that the Democratic Action Party (DAP)-led Penang government had made policy changes that may not have gone down well with voters.
He did not elaborate, but it is no secret that there have been attempts to paint the Chinese-based DAP as dismantling pro-Malay policies.
'Barisan Nasional is expected to capitalise on this to the core, putting Anwar on the defensive,' Mr Syed Nadzri wrote.
Further, Umno could field a respected religious figure, he noted. This would bring the latent Islamic issues to the fore, making it harder for Mr Anwar to stay on the safe middle ground.
Mr Liew Chin Tong, a DAP MP from Penang, said a recent survey showed growing non-Malay support for the opposition Pakatan Rakyat alliance, but did not disclose who commissioned the poll.
'It's even stronger than before March 8,' he said.
A news portal, Malaysian Insider, yesterday also carried results of a recent survey that covered more than 3,000 respondents, but did not disclose who commissioned it.
According to its data, over 31 per cent of those polled said their view of the opposition had remained the same since March 8 while 36.7 per cent said it had improved. Only 22 per cent of respondents had a negative view.
Most of the positive responses came from the Chinese and Indians, while the Malays were a little more ambivalent.
In the light of the racially demarcated support for him, Mr Anwar will have to work hard to maintain his multiracial platform - a legacy that he is trying to carve out for himself.
It would go a long way towards dispelling his longstanding image as an Islamic radical, a reputation earned in his student days and early years in government.
By Carolyn Hong, The Straits Times
OPPOSITION leader Anwar Ibrahim chose a significant theme to speak about at a rally which he used to launch his campaign to return to Parliament.
'Yes, I am a Malay agent, I am a Chinese agent, I am an Indian agent, and I am an agent of the people,' he told the cheering thousands who gathered at the rally in Penang on Sunday.
It was a clever message, and to Datuk Seri Anwar's credit, also a consistent one. Over the last few years, he has been honing his image as a multiracial leader of Malaysia.
Observers were stunned to see how he won over the normally-reticent rural Chinese voters during a by-election last year in a predominantly Chinese constituency in Malacca.
At his rallies, the Chinese voters chanted his name 'Anwar, Anwar' as if he was a superstar. He won their hearts with his pledge to scrap the controversial policy that favours the Malays in economic and education opportunities.
The opposition candidate lost in that by-election, but Mr Anwar won.
He cemented this image when his Parti Keadilan Rakyat fielded a mixed slate of candidates for the March 8 polls, and championed Ketuanan Rakyat (People's Supremacy) to counter the Malay Supremacy slogan favoured by Umno.
He will be fighting hard to preserve his newly crafted vision of multiracialism as he heads into a by-election in his old Permatang Pauh seat in Penang.
The seat became vacant after his wife Wan Azizah Ismail stepped down last week, forcing the government to hold a by-election.
Most analysts predict an easy win for Mr Anwar, but a top editor in the influential New Straits Times daily, Datuk Syed Nadzri Harun, wrote that there will be some challenges, among them on the race front.
He noted that the Democratic Action Party (DAP)-led Penang government had made policy changes that may not have gone down well with voters.
He did not elaborate, but it is no secret that there have been attempts to paint the Chinese-based DAP as dismantling pro-Malay policies.
'Barisan Nasional is expected to capitalise on this to the core, putting Anwar on the defensive,' Mr Syed Nadzri wrote.
Further, Umno could field a respected religious figure, he noted. This would bring the latent Islamic issues to the fore, making it harder for Mr Anwar to stay on the safe middle ground.
Mr Liew Chin Tong, a DAP MP from Penang, said a recent survey showed growing non-Malay support for the opposition Pakatan Rakyat alliance, but did not disclose who commissioned the poll.
'It's even stronger than before March 8,' he said.
A news portal, Malaysian Insider, yesterday also carried results of a recent survey that covered more than 3,000 respondents, but did not disclose who commissioned it.
According to its data, over 31 per cent of those polled said their view of the opposition had remained the same since March 8 while 36.7 per cent said it had improved. Only 22 per cent of respondents had a negative view.
Most of the positive responses came from the Chinese and Indians, while the Malays were a little more ambivalent.
In the light of the racially demarcated support for him, Mr Anwar will have to work hard to maintain his multiracial platform - a legacy that he is trying to carve out for himself.
It would go a long way towards dispelling his longstanding image as an Islamic radical, a reputation earned in his student days and early years in government.
