For years, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has positioned himself as the face of reform, transparency, and institutional accountability.
But now, a fresh controversy is threatening that image — because an individual reportedly treated as a credible witness by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has publicly uttered the names of both Anwar and his former political secretary, Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak, in video clip in connection with an ongoing corruption investigation.
And this is precisely the kind of political risk that Rafizi Ramli warned about months ago when he cautioned Anwar that Farhash could become his “Jho Low 2.0.”
A witness trusted by MACC is now naming names
According to reports, Parti Pejuang has urged authorities to investigate both Anwar and Farhash following the emergence of a new video clip involving businesswoman Sofia Rini Buyong.
"Wasn't Sofia Rini an important witness in the case involving Shamsul Iskandar? This means the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) and the Attorney General believe Sofia Rini's testimony.
The MACC, PDRM (Royal Malaysia Police), and KDN (Ministry of Home Affairs) have no other choice. Farhash and Anwar must be investigated.
The MACC needs to issue a notice under Section 36 of the MACC Act 2009 in the names of Farhash and Anwar. Both of them must declare their assets," Pejuang information chief Rafique Rashid Ali said.
Sofia is not a random political commentator making allegations from the sidelines.
She has reportedly served as an important witness for MACC in a corruption case involving businessman Albert Tei and former aide to the prime minister Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin.
That distinction matters.
As Pejuang information chief Rafique Rashid Ali pointed out, if Sofia is being relied upon as a witness in a corruption investigation, it suggests that both MACC and the Attorney-General’s Chambers consider her testimony serious enough to examine.
In the newly surfaced video, Sofia allegedly mentioned both Anwar and Farhash by name.
That alone does not prove wrongdoing.
But it does raise an unavoidable question:
If investigators consider her credible enough in one corruption probe, can authorities simply ignore allegations when they implicate individuals closer to the center of power?
Rafique argued they cannot.
He called on MACC, the police, and the Home Ministry to investigate both men and urged MACC to invoke Section 36 of the MACC Act 2009.
That provision allows the commission to compel individuals to declare their assets and makes it a criminal offence to refuse or provide false information.
Failure to comply can result in up to five years imprisonment and a fine of RM100,000.
That is not a trivial request.
It reflects growing pressure for authorities to demonstrate that anti-corruption laws apply equally — whether the individual involved is a businessman, an opposition politician, or the prime minister himself.
Sofia has also denied certain allegations
It is equally important to acknowledge that Sofia has denied being a proxy for Shamsul.
After earlier videos emerged last year, she said allegations made against her by Albert Tei were defamatory.
She also explicitly denied ever meeting Anwar regarding the allegations raised.
“I want to stress here that I am not a proxy for Shamsul. And I must clarify that I have never met or held any discussions with PMX regarding the allegations made by Albert.”
That denial should be taken seriously too.
At this stage, these remain allegations — not proven facts.
But denials do not eliminate the need for scrutiny.
They make scrutiny even more necessary.
Rafizi saw this danger coming
What makes this story even more politically explosive is that Rafizi had already publicly warned Anwar about Farhash.
And he used one of the most politically radioactive comparisons possible.
He said Farhash could become Anwar’s version of Jho Low.
That was not rhetorical exaggeration.
Rafizi’s warning was rooted in concerns about how politically connected individuals can leverage access to power to rapidly build corporate empires.
He described how influential but unelected figures could become middlemen between businesses and government contracts.
His warning was blunt:
“Malaysia has already been burned once by the Jho Low saga.”
He cautioned that Malaysia should never again allow an unelected individual with opaque influence to operate near the center of government.
Since Anwar became prime minister, Farhash has reportedly accumulated stakes and positions in multiple major companies.
He became linked to HeiTech Padu Berhad, which was shortlisted for the RM1 billion National Integrated Immigration System project.
He was also tied to major mining interests that sparked public controversy.
Farhash has denied wrongdoing and has filed multiple defamation suits against critics.
But the broader issue was never merely legal.
It was political.
It was about perception.
And in politics, perception often becomes reality long before court rulings arrive.
Reform credibility is now on the line
Anwar built his political career by attacking corruption under previous administrations.
He condemned elite impunity.
He promised a cleaner Malaysia.
That is why this controversy is uniquely dangerous.
If people begin to believe that corruption investigations stop where political convenience begins, the reform narrative collapses.
And if names linked to the prime minister continue surfacing in corruption controversies, comparisons to the past will only intensify.
This does not mean Anwar is guilty.
It means the burden of transparency is now even higher.
The government cannot demand accountability from others while treating allegations involving its own inner circle as politically inconvenient noise.
The lesson of the 1MDB era was simple:
Ignoring early warning signs often creates larger disasters later.
And Rafizi’s warning may now look far less dramatic than it once did.
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