KUALA LUMPUR: Often viewed as a popular figure in Indonesia, Malaysia's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is facing new criticism by Kuala Lumpur after Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told reporters in Jakarta that Ibrahim has “little influence” in the neighboring country. It comes on the heels of a number of campaigns against the Malaysian opposition leader, including charges of misuse of funds nearly a decade ago. The cases are to go to court later this year, but with election preparation heating up in Malaysia, the government is doing all it can to detract from Ibrahim's growing popularity after he supported the Berish 3.0 protests for reform in April. Yassin said the opposition leader's influence in the republic was “not as great as it had been made out to be.” He said Indonesian leaders were “well informed of the political climate” in Malaysia and they acknowledged the long-standing close bilateral relations with the country. The Bernama news agency quoted the deputy PM as telling Malaysian journalists: “The situation is not as it is portrayed by him (Anwar), that he is highly influential in Indonesia. He does not get much space in the local media to show that what he is doing is something great.”
