AP Interview: Anwar wants Malaysia to scrap race policies
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Pardoned Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim says decades-old affirmative action policies for the country's Malay majority must be discarded in favor of a new program to help the poor regardless of race.
In an interview with The Associated Press, the prime minister-in-waiting also says he plans to run in a by-election this year to become a member of Parliament but that he isn't in a rush to take over the top job.
The 70-year-old Anwar was convicted of sodomy in 2015 in a case he said was politically motivated. He was given a royal pardon Wednesday and freed from custody after the stunning electoral victory of his alliance led by former foe Mahathir Mohamad.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Anwar said Thursday that poor Malays will benefit more from merit-based policies that are transparent.