Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has suddenly found himself in the middle of an embarrassing scandal involving a former top aide on a weekend when tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in a rally called “Turun Anwar,” or “down with Anwar.” The scandal has been complicated by an order from the Information Ministry attempting vainly to block an awkward Facebook posting involving the former aide, only to have it go viral.A massive crowd estimated by the rally’s leaders at 150,000 demonstrators – and police at 18,000 – showed up on a cloudy Saturday on the padang in front of the colonial-era Selangor Club to protest Anwar’s government, with the 100-year-old former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar’s decades-long nemesis since he fired him as finance minister in 1998 and engineered the first of the two sexual perversion charges that put Anwar behind bars for six years, carefully picking his way through the crowd to arrive early to deliver his keynote speech seeking Anwar’s removal from office. Muhammad Sanusi, the chief minister of Mahathir’s home state of Kedah, also showed up at the rally along with the senior leaders of the opposition Perikatan Nasional coalition.Anwar, who came to power as a reformer to international acclaim after two decades in the political wilderness that included two prison terms on charges regarded as trumped up to thwart his political career, may be in real trouble this time. He has largely ignored the reformasi manifesto that brought him to power, power, distressing devoted followers who had stuck with him through his ordeal. He has made common cause with the scandal-scarred United Malays National Organization, largely allowing the party’s leaders to escape from justice. However, there appears to be little alternative at this point, with a leadership vacuum in both his own coalition and the opposition Parti Islam se-Malaysia and Bersatu parties. His government, unless it were to face a no-confidence vote – which looks increasingly possible – doesn’t face election until February 2028.The affair that blew up this week involves Anwar’s former political secretary and reputed hatchet man Farhash Wafa Salvador, now a reputed business partner of the king, Sultan Ibrahim of Johor and who just this week received the honorific title Datuk, awarded in Anwar’s home constituency in Penang as a “key corporate figure holding important leadership roles in various organizations,” according to the news portal Malaysiakini.Farhash is linked to a company, Bumi Suria Sdn Bhd, that last year was reportedly granted the exclusive right to explore minerals on 70,000 hectares of forest reserves in the East Malaysian state of Sabah. The Kuala Lumpur-based news portal MalaysiaNow obtained audio recordings, official documents and letters exchanged between Sabah Mineral Management Sdn Bhd, the state licensing agency chaired by Chief Minister Haji Noor, and Bumi Suria that give the company the right to explore for minerals, primarily coal, in the Kalabakan and Gunung Rara forest reserves near the Kalimantan border, an area roughly the size of New York City, which was originally intended to be managed into perpetuity for the benefit of Sabahans.Farhash denied the report and demanded a public apology, sending a cease-and-desist letter to MalaysiaNow and saying allegations he owned Bumi Suria and that the company had been awarded a license were “false and defamatory.” His lawyers said Farhash was merely a director and shareholder.For decades, the tropical rainforests of Sabah and Sarawak, which cover the northernmost portion of Borneo island, have been exploited, often by Peninsular Malaysian interests, leading to major environmental and social consequences. Resource extraction has been a major driver of deforestation and social disruption, leading to habitat loss, biodiversity decline, and disruption of traditional lifestyles of indigenous communities who rely on forest resources.MalaysiaNow made a six-minute video describing the affair, which was picked up by social media platforms until it was blocked by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the agency under the communications ministry led by Information Minister Fahmi Fadzil. “Because of a legal request from MCMC, we have to restrict access to your video,” reads a notice from Facebook.The news portal promptly posted a screenshot of the order blocking the video, which in turn was replayed all over social media. It is uncertain who relayed the order to Fahmi’s agency, but it had to have come from the top levels of Anwar’s government.This comes at a time when Anwar himself is caught in the coils of an awkward affair in which he is attempting to claim immunity in a complaint filed against him for allegedly attempting to seduce a young male aide, claiming that as head of government, he couldn’t be compelled to appear in court over any false accusations that political critics or his enemies hurl at him. It is the third charge of sexual perversion against him in his career, the first two regarded as brought in a bid to end his political career. This one is regarded as more troubling because he is now the one in power. A hearing set for July 5 has now been postponed to September 2.Anwar has added to the controversy by allegedly trying to bring in “friendly” judges to replace seven top judges who will retire in the next six months. That includes the highly respected Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, whose term he refused to extend, and other senior judges. The fact that he didn’t extend the highly respected Tengku Maimun by six months, as has been the convention, has added to the outrage.Rafizi Ramli, who was ousted from his position as Secretary General of Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat to be replaced by Anwar’s daughter, and who is increasingly leading the intraparty opposition to his rule, called on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to open an investigation into the affair calling on Anwar to “approach the allegations against Farhash with the gravity they warrant.”Previously, flanked by several other PKR dissidents, Rafizi issued a public statement calling into question the nonrenewal of Maimun and her deputy Abang Iskandar, both of whom retired and were not given six-month extensions.Anwar on July 23 announced a package of sweeteners aimed at mollifying dissent, easing the cost of living, including a RM100 ($24) cash handout for all adults, redeemable at more than 4,000 stores from August 31 to December 31, as well as reducing the price of subsidized gasoline from RM2.05 per liter to RM1.99, freezing planned hikes in toll rates on 10 highways and throwing in an extra public holiday on September 15 to coincide with Malaysia Day.But with Rafizi taking an increasingly activist role, and with other hostile forces converging amid a growing series of own goals that take the luster off Malaysia’s economic performance, the prime minister faces trouble that will be difficult to wish away.