The renaissance man of Malaysia

Anwar is now leading the Malay and non-Malay spectrum of voters while Mahathir is reviled for numerous economic and social misgivings.

COMMENT

Knowing the Barisan National culture, would it not have been easier for Anwar Ibrahim to have joined the ruling coalition after his release in 2004? Instead, Anwar opted to face the BN’s brutal force in full brunt!

“The demands of the people remain to be good governance, accountability for corruption, political empowerment and social justice.” said Anwar in an Asian Renaissance forum in 2011 in Phnom Phen, Cambodia. Anwar has always fought for all that he mentioned in that event.

He added that “regimes that have gone past their expiry dates but continue to paint a façade of peace, security and even prosperity through the use of an elaborate propaganda machine are only delaying their final reckoning.”

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had recently claimed that he was once hoodwinked by the religious piety of Anwar, and warned Malaysians not to fall prey as well. The statement reveals one of Mahathir’s greatest weakness, which is his very poor judgement of character.

In order to compensate this lacking, Mahathir is pressing the charge against Anwar with the good old tactic of a sort of trial by the ‘web’.

History will record that it was Mahathir who brought Anwar to Umno’s folds, and it will also state that it was the former PM himself who helped carved the path for Anwar’s sharp and rapid rise within Umno’s ranks.

Then, in 1998, Mahathir suddenly realised Anwar was not fit to run the country, thus the path for the former DPM’s downfall was laid.

The scenario was played out in other occasions, with the downfall of Musa Hitam from the post of deputy PM and the removal of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as the PM of Malaysia.

In all these occasions, Mahathir showed that he was possibly hoodwinked by his deputies.

Will Najib Tun Razak face the same song? He is the chosen one, like Anwar was in the past. The direct challenge for the BN, with Anwar leading a strong and powerful opposition group, is the lack of intelligent responses to Anwar’s accusations against its leaders.

Since the downfall of the Sodomy 2 strategy against Anwar, the latter launched a non-stop campaign against BN leaders and former leaders, including Mahathir.

Brave moves by Anwar
Manifestly ill at ease with Anwar’s offensive – which is a very powerful strategy in the eyes of the populace – Mahathir launched his own scathing remarks, belittling Anwar’s role as a BN leader and as a deputy PM and finance minister.

The sinister part, of the Mahathir accusations, are that they are based on hearsay and are made with much ado to create confusion about Anwar’s ability as a leader.

Yet, much to the BN’s own peril, Mahathir’s remarks against Anwar has backfired with more accusations of fraud, money siphoning and abuse of democracy surfacing.

Facts will prove one day that Anwar contributed at large to the progress and development of the poor and needy. His opposition to Mahathir, in the face of a panic stricken Umno in the 1998 crisis that hit the country, is legendary.

Refusing to hand over public funds to save privateers, while establishing the anti-corruption agency well before the crisis started in Malaysia, are two brave moves by Anwar. These cannot be ignored.

The creation of the Malay Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia or the ABIM, was a historic moment in Malay youth development in the country. The ABIM contributed largely, in the consolidating of the Malay community and in representing Malaysia at international level.

Anwar’s campaigns in the early 1970′s raised the focus on Bahasa Melayu (BM), while his tenure as Ministry of Education also contributed in creating more awareness about Islam among the Malay students.

It has not been forgotten that Anwar launched several low cost housing programmes that has helped the low income earners to own a house, despite the hurdles that came into existence after his downfall as finance minister.

During his days at the Finance Ministry, the Malay community did benefit from micro-credit schemes.

Thus, Anwar did not abandon the Malay-Muslims and the poor of the nation for his own personal gains.

After his removal from the government and from the Umno and sent to rot in jail, to be forgotten like former Umno leaders in the past, Anwar was financially broke. His family was on the brink of being insolvent, with the court cases piling against the former powerful figure of Malaysia.

Unlike those who benefited of the last ditch efforts of the Mahathir regime to salvage the government and ULC’s and GLC’s, Anwar had to battle it alone.

Anwar’s come back
True to say that there was a crowd supporting him, in his every move against the BN while being incarcerated. But the oppression against him and his supporters were unbearable at times.

Yet, Anwar rose against all the odds to become one of the rare local political figures who made it back from the gutters. This come back has not been sitting well with many Umno and BN leaders.

The Ahmad Badawi regime thought, by freeing Anwar from jail in 2004, the latter would probably join forces with the Umno-BN – a move that would have killed the opposition force.

He decided otherwise, and joined the opposition and led it to a massive electoral gain that shocked the ruling coalition. if this does not show the courage and sacrifices made by Anwar for the people, then Mahathir can be said to be sarcastically right in his criticism of Anwar.

Accused of being pro-American and anti-East – which is not the whole truth – Anwar responded with the look east policy and promoted the Asian Renaissance.

Today the BN will claim that anything Anwar did while acting as deputy PM and finance minister was only to carry out the coalition’s policies. Yet, it is evident that Anwar had a bigger role in crafting some of these policies, implementing them altogether.

Today, Anwar has taken the mantle that once belonged to the prime ministers of Malaysia, that of being the unifying factor of a racially divided nation.

Before the fall of Anwar from power, Mahathir was seen as the one man who could bring both Malay and non-Malay voters to the fore, giving the BN an edge in electoral battles against a meagre opposition force.

Anwar’s second birth
Now, the role has completely reversed, with Anwar leading the Malay and non-Malay spectrum of voters while Mahathir is reviled for numerous economic and social misgivings.

Anwar has, since his release from jail and behind bars altogether, insisted he wanted change in Malaysia.

What is in it for the former Umno leader? He has been accused by many in the government and by Umno-BN supporters of being greedy, wanting the PM post at all cost.

The truth is the contrary to these allegations by the opponents to Anwar’s second birth in Malaysian politics.

Anwar is, in effect, the renaissance man of Malaysia. Leading the opposition to greater gains in electoral battles and pressuring the ruling coalition to correct its path time and again, are signs that he is the chosen one.

This time, he is not Mahathir’s chosen replacement.

He is, de-facto, the PM to be of Malaysia and this is the direct result of the 66% majority vote he won at the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-elections in 2008.

It is the choice by the people, that propelled Anwar to the post of leader of the opposition, for the people and by the people.

Ali Cordoba writes extensively on local politics.