Fortune's Alyson Shontell sat down with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to discuss winning the historic election earlier this year to become the 10th Prime Minister of the country.

It was not an easy road for Ibrahim to become Prime Minister of Malaysia. His ascent initially seemed as if it would be swift when he was named deputy prime minister in the early 1990s, supporting his onetime mentor, Mahathir Mohamad. But when that relationship soured, Anwar found himself sacked, beaten, and ultimately imprisoned for nearly a decade on bogus charges of corruption and sodomy. It is a criminal offense to be gay in the Muslim-majority country.

Anwar joined forces again with Mahathir in 2018 following the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal, in which over $4 billion was stolen from the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, aided by a former Goldman Sachs managing director. Although the investment bank paid a settlement for its involvement, Anwar is still fighting to get the rest of the money back from the Wall Street giant. The scandal had brought down then–Prime Minister Najib Razak, and Mahathir returned to power in hopes of getting Malaysia back on track. But the country went through years of political instability afterward, with multiple leaders being elected and ousted in rapid succession while its economy slumped amid weakening exports and a global slowdown.

In November 2022, the Malaysian king named Anwar as the country’s 10th prime minister after a deadlocked vote in a historic election. Yet soon after, Anwar faced another test: A state election on Aug. 12, involving six of Malaysia’s 13 states, which turned out a mixed early verdict. Although the outcome was generally predicted, the opposition made up ground in some key areas.

Now 76, Anwar has much to do to maintain stability and improve Malaysia’s economic world standing. Much of the plan‘s success hinges on persuading large global companies to bring high-paying jobs to Malaysia, which hopes to position itself as an attractive supply-chain solution. Anwar recently struck an impactful deal with Elon Musk to bring Starlink and Tesla opportunities into the country and hopes more deals will follow. But he will need to also convince these leaders that his government is stable enough to stay in power and see his vision through.

00:00 - Election Results
01:01 - Anwar Ibrahim's Tumultuous Path
04:10 - 1MDB Scandal
06:18 - The Madani Economy
08:32 - Elon Musk's Investment With Tesla And Starlink
10:17 - Infineon's Investment
11:20 - China's Relationship With Malaysia
13:10 - Employing More Women In The Workforce
15:26 - Failure In His Eyes
16:11 - Anwar Ibrahim's Legacy

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