Malaysia’s newly appointed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Friday his primary focus would be on the cost of living as he takes office with a slowing economy and a country deeply split after a close election.
“My priority now is addressing the cost of living,” he told a news conference after reporting for duty at the prime minister’s office.
Anwar, 75, was sworn in as premier on Thursday, capping a three-decade political journey from a protege of veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad to protest leader, a prisoner convicted of sodomy and opposition figurehead.
Anwar, who Malaysia’s king appointed on Thursday following an inconclusive election, said his primary concern was the economy and he would have a smaller Cabinet than those of previous administrations. Anwar’s supporters expressed hope that his government would avert a return to historic tensions between the ethnic Malay, Muslim majority, and ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.
“My priority now is addressing the cost of living,” he told a news conference after reporting for duty at the prime minister’s office.
Anwar, 75, was sworn in as premier on Thursday, capping a three-decade political journey from a protege of veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad to protest leader, a prisoner convicted of sodomy and opposition figurehead.
Anwar, who Malaysia’s king appointed on Thursday following an inconclusive election, said his primary concern was the economy and he would have a smaller Cabinet than those of previous administrations. Anwar’s supporters expressed hope that his government would avert a return to historic tensions between the ethnic Malay, Muslim majority, and ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.
