Anwar stakes his future on election
Updated 2 May 2013, 21:20 AEST
Anwar Ibrahim says momentum among supporters has built early in this election campaign. (Credit: AFP)
Anwar Ibrahim says he will step down if his three-party Malaysian alliance fails to wrest power from the ruling National Front coalition in Sunday's election.
The 65-year-old former deputy prime minister and finance minister told Reuters: "I'll have given my best.
"And if the people are not ready for change, it's better that you have a post-Anwar situation."
He spoke after campaigning in the western state of Melaka, a National Front stronghold.
Mr Anwar is closer to power than at any time since his meteoric career came crashing down in 1998 when he fell out with the then prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, his mentor.
His alliance surged to its best-ever election result in 2008, gaining support from ethnic Chinese and Indians.
Optimistic
The former rising star of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party said he was optimistic about going one better this time."What is encouraging compared with 2008 is that we have built the momentum rather early this time."
Anwar, who had long been tipped to succeed Mahathir, was dismissed in 1998 and charged with sodomy and corruption after he clashed with Mahathir over his handling of the Asian financial crisis.
His arrest sparked street protests calling for "reformasi", or reform, that still resonate today, especially for a younger generation eager for change.
Anwar spent six years in solitary confinement and was forced to sit out Malaysia's next two elections before returning to parliament in 2008 with a sweeping by-election victory.
Fresh allegations then surfaced and many expected Anwar's political career to end with a guilty verdict in court. Instead, he was given a new lease of political life when he was acquitted in January 2012.
Anwar has always maintained the charges against him were politically motivated, a view shared by international human rights groups and a majority of Malaysians in opinion polls.
Reuters
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