Finally, it’s all about perception

Let me say it again: Anwar is losing the perception war. Many who used to curse Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in Sodomy 1 and swear that Anwar was being framed are not cursing Najib Tun Razak in Sodomy 2 and feel that maybe the allegation could be true.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin

This was the problem we faced in the past. We could never get Anwar Ibrahim’s legal and political advisors to agree on a common strategy.

And Anwar had more than one advisor. And each advisor had his/her own idea of what the best strategy was. This was why we considered the Sodomy 1 legal/political defence badly handled.

Some of these advisors lamented about the frustration they faced in getting Anwar to agree to a strategy and to stick to the agreed strategy. Sometimes the legal team embarked on a political campaign rather than a legal campaign. And sometimes the political team appeared to be launching a legal campaign rather than a political campaign.

This was probably the best example of too many cooks spoiling the broth. And an added frustration was: after getting Anwar to agree to a certain strategy, someone else would go meet Anwar and he would agree to another course of action. It appeared like ‘the last one in’ had the final say and the earlier agreed course of action would be abandoned in favour of the latest idea.

Any general would tell you that you do not change course in midstream. Once the direction has been decided you stick to it and see it to the end. Once the forces have advanced and you change course, this would mean utter chaos with everyone not only going in opposite directions but also at times bumping into each other.

This is a sure way of losing the battle and finding your forces trapped in the open. As they say, there are no bad soldiers, only bad commanders. And a bad commander is one who sends his/her forces all over the place with no clear direction from the top.

I used to be one of those who faced this frustration. Just as I thought everything had been agreed and a concrete battle plan had been formulated, I receive word that someone has managed to convince Anwar to agree to a new strategy and what had been earlier agreed was now no longer on.

There was many an occasion when I just gave up. When I inquired into whom this new ‘mastermind’ was, I was appalled to hear that the change of direction was mooted by the very person who was the architect of an earlier most disastrous campaign.

The fact that many of these people have since left Anwar and are now working for the other side just reinforced my suspicion. Were these people just incompetent and stupid or were they moles or Trojans horses whose job was to offer wrong advice so that Anwar’s campaign fails.

Sometimes I wonder. And when I interact with them I am far from impressed with their capabilities. I felt, as Malaysians would say, they are ‘talking cock’. How can such clever people with such high education and credentials be so dumb? Don’t they realise that what they are doing is sending Anwar closer to the gallows, so to speak?

This orgy of incompetence appears to be spreading to the Sodomy 2 campaign as well. Is Sodomy 2 a legal battle or a political battle? It has to be one or the other. It can’t be both at the same time.

Maybe since I am not involved in Sodomy 2 as I was in Sodomy 1 is the reason I am a bit confused. But then even when I was involved in Sodomy 1 I was equally confused. So surely it can’t be just me. And I know many other people out there are also very confused.

The ‘good’ thing about Sodomy 1, if we can really call it good, is that most, even those in Umno, were convinced that Anwar is innocent and a victim of a frame up. This is not so for Sodomy 2. In Sodomy 2, many, even those who support Anwar, are asking whether Anwar is really innocent or is there a possibility that he may actually be guilty.

This is what is bad about Sodomy 2. I don’t know what the court is finally going to rule but what the court rules is not significant because many do not trust the courts anyway. Even if the court rules that Anwar is guilty this does not mean that people would believe it since the courts can’t be trusted.

But the court has not yet entered a verdict in Sodomy 2. And in Sodomy 1, even when the court said that Anwar is guilty, everyone said that this is a lie and that Anwar is innocent. But for Sodomy 2, even though the court has not made a ruling yet, many are wondering whether Anwar may have actually done what he has been accused of.

This reflects a failure on the part of Anwar’s team. Why have they failed so miserably when in Sodomy 1 they managed the perception war so well? What has gone wrong? And what are the issues being raised by these people who were so convinced of Anwar’s innocence in Sodomy 1 but are beginning to have doubts in Sodomy 2?

Anwar has to decide whether Sodomy 2 is a legal battle or a political battle. In Sodomy 1 it was a political battle. Anwar may have lost the legal battle but he won the political battle most impressively. Therefore, whatever the court may have said, Anwar is innocent in the minds of most people.

If Sodomy 2 is a legal battle and not a political battle, then Anwar has to focus on the legal issues. But if Sodomy 2, just like Sodomy 1, is a political battle, then Anwar has to manage the perception war a bit better than he is currently doing. If not, even if the court rules that Anwar is innocent and drops the charge against him, many would still say he is guilty -- just that the court failed to prove his guilt (the opposite of what happened in Sodomy 1).

I know Anwar is going to be most unpleased about what I am saying here. But then, does Anwar want to hear what people are saying or does he want to hear only nice things (which means I would have to lie)?

The way the case is dragging on with postponement after postponement is setting tongues wagging. They are asking: why doesn’t Anwar get the trial over and done with? Would it not be better that we get to the bottom of this whole thing and once and for all resolved the matter?

The DNA issue is another matter that is confusing most people who are now asking what is Anwar trying to hide. They are asking: why not do a DNA match and prove once and for all that he is innocent? Maybe there is a legal strategy here that we are not being told about. But it certainly leaves a lot of questions unanswered.

Let me say it again: Anwar is losing the perception war. Many who used to curse Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in Sodomy 1 and swear that Anwar was being framed are not cursing Najib Tun Razak in Sodomy 2 and feel that maybe the allegation could be true.

This, to me, is the crux of the whole thing. Never mind what the court says. It is what the people are saying which will be the final test.

And, in ruling in Anwar’s favour on the DNA samples obtained illegally when they detained him overnight in the police lockup, the impression given is that Anwar is getting a fair trial after all. That victory may actually work against Anwar. Later, if the court finds Anwar guilty, it will be very difficult to say that the trial has been rigged. Did the court not rule in Anwar’s favour on the DNA issue?

I fear that Anwar may have won the battle but may lose the war. And finally it is not what the court says but what the people think that will matter. This will decide whether Anwar is seen as a credible opposition leader and whether Pakatan Rakyat with Anwar at the helm is seen as a credible alternative government.

Politics is about perception. In Sodomy 1 the perception was in Anwar’s favour. In Sodomy 2, the perception is not very good. How are Anwar and his team of very contradicting advisors going to tackle this problem? I wonder.