In the quiet hours of a Tuesday night, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim shared a photograph of himself behind prison glass — a deliberate act of memory as his predecessor Najib Abdul Razak prepared to leave Kajang Prison for house arrest. The image, drawn from Anwar's own years of imprisonment on charges he called political, placed two men — both prime ministers, both convicted, both disputing their fates — into the same long arc of Malaysian history. It was not a statement so much as a reflection: that power and captivity have long moved in close proximity in this country, and that the
Anwar reflects on prison past as Najib moves to house arrest
Anwar Ibrahim and Najib Abdul Razak both experienced imprisonment; Anwar was assaulted in police custody resulting in visible injury.