COMMENT | As Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim marks his first year of office there are a range of opinions from sycophantic public-relations pieces to those more critical.

Here, in two pieces, I focus on his one-year record in office and in a subsequent article on how Malaysian politics is changing.

I argue that much of the positive changes taking place are in spite of Anwar’s leadership, rather than because of it.

At best, Anwar’s performance is mixed; he has succeeded in staying in power but...