This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 27, 2021 - January 2, 2022

President of Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, special envoy to the Middle East and member of parliament for Marang

For the ninth time, PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, 74, who has helmed the Islamic party since 2002, was returned unopposed to the post at the party’s 67th annual assembly in November. Hadi’s endurance as party head reflects its political culture that stresses allegiance among followers over contesting for leadership, which is more visible in other political parties.

Hadi’s position was therefore secure despite questions about his health, which arose following a spate of hospital stays due to exhaustion in February, April and June.

In September, he was retained as a special envoy to the Middle East in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, carrying on in that position from the administration of the previous premier, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

As one of three special envoys with ministerial status in Ismail Sabri’s Cabinet, Hadi’s inclusion in the government shows the leverage which the party continues to enjoy as a member of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition that it formed with Muhyiddin’s Bersatu and Sabah-based parties in 2020. Nevertheless, the cost of these positions to the public purse has provided fodder for the government’s critics, who see the appointments as a reward for backing the premier in parliament.

PAS’ attempt to strengthen its electoral prospects through its alliance with Umno, in the form of Muafakat Nasional, came under strain towards year end as the two parties aired their differences over whether to admit Bersatu, which is an Umno splinter party. Leaning towards PN following a dismal outing by PAS in the Melaka state election in November, Hadi said his party was being shackled by its pact with Umno. — By Rash Behari Bhattacharjee

Former two-time prime minister, chairman of Parti Pejuang Tanah Air and member of parliament for Langkawi

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, 96, continued to make the headlines this year with his characteristically controversial views. Most recently, a remark about Chinese Malaysians using chopsticks rather than their hands to eat rankled public sentiment when he equated it to a failure to assimilate with local culture.

His party, Pejuang, later issued a statement that the remark had been taken out of context and blown out of proportion.

Showing no sign of leaving politics, he told a news conference in December that he still feels the need to bring down the current government because it did not come into power through an election. He was speaking at the launch of his latest memoir, titled Capturing Hope: The Struggle Continues for a New Malaysia.

The book, which gives his account of the 22 months of the Pakatan Harapan government that he led, ignited a row with Damansara MP Tony Pua, whom he refers to only as a trusted adviser to his then finance minister Lim Guan Eng. In his memoir, Mahathir accuses Lim’s political secretary of being arrogant and behaving like a minister.

Hinting at his plans for the next general election, which is due by 2023 but could be called next year, Mahathir said in November that he may contest “as a last resort”.

Earlier this year, his readiness to do battle was evident when he told Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar in May that he would see the former inspector-general of police in court. Khalid had sued Mahathir for defamation over a statement that, in 2015, he had leaked information on the progress of an investigation into 1Malaysia Development Bhd to then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. — By Rash Behari Bhattacharjee

Chairman of the central policy and strategic planning commission of the Democratic Action Party and member of parliament for Iskandar Puteri

Lim Kit Siang, 80, has been a standard-bearer for the DAP for more than five decades and shows no signs of slowing down. For almost the entire time, he has kept the government of the day on its toes, except for about two years after the 2018 general election, when Pakatan Harapan, in which the DAP is a senior partner, took control of Putrajaya.

In the just concluded Sarawak state election, the DAP suffered a major reversal, winning just two seats compared to seven in the last election. Lim’s campaign had focused on issues ranging from the disparity in development between the Borneo states and Peninsular Malaysia to the party’s fight for Sarawak’s rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 to be fully recognised.

It was the latest rerun of his lifelong mission as the champion of justice. That story was captured in his biography, Lim Kit Siang: Malaysian First, Volume One — None But the Bold, launched in November.

Three years after he joined the DAP, Lim was named as its secretary-general in 1969, a post he retained until 1999. Since his political debut, he has spent a lifetime in political battles as the people’s representative in both the state assembly and parliament. It included almost three decades as opposition leader in parliament, much of it spent holding the government of the then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to account.

A cancer scare in 2017 failed to dampen Lim’s appetite for the political joust. — By Rash Behari Bhattacharjee

Opposition leader, president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat and member of parliament for Port Dickson

In November, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had to face down new calls for him to resign as the Pakatan Harapan (PH) chief after the coalition was mauled in the Melaka state election. PH won only five seats, compared with 15 in the 2018 general election.

The PKR president has spent two decades in his quest for the premiership, stretching back to his sacking when he was deputy to then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1998. Over the years, he had claimed several times to have gathered enough support from MPs to form the government, but failed to clinch the post on each attempt.

This year, too, Anwar, who is opposition leader, claimed to have the majority in parliament after Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin resigned as prime minister in August. In the end, Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob secured the necessary backing to become the country’s ninth prime minister.

In September 2020, some seven months after Muhyiddin — president of Bersatu — had become prime minister following the Sheraton Move, Anwar said he had the support of a strong majority and was ready to form the government. However, he failed to convince the King despite showing him documents to prove his case.

Anwar’s repeated attempts to claim the anointed position is eroding his support among his political allies and voters. Fatigue over the endless manoeuvrings of ageing political actors is fuelling calls for new blood to take over from the old guard and could make it more difficult for the PKR president to stay relevant in the new year.

The issue will gain more urgency with the implementation of the Undi18 law, which lowers the voting age from 21 to 18 by the end of the year. — By Rash Behari Bhattacharjee

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