“Stop despising PMX; he’s done everything possible to put Malaysia on the global pedestal”

 

IF I were to believe the people around me, it seems like Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim can’t do anything right.

Almost everyone despises Anwar, it seems. They hate him so much that I reckon even if Anwar say water is wet and fire is hot, they’ll find some fault in what he says.

They despise him so much that they can’t wait for him to fail—even when he does things like finally bringing the petrol price down.

You should hear what people around me have to say about the RON 95 subsidies—a 6 sen discount is chicken feed, it’s going to be a disaster, everyone will be reselling petrol on the black market, people’s ICs and personal data will be stolen, what if you use up your 300-litre quota then do you have to pay the foreigner rate of RM 2.60 per litre, how come even the rich are subsidised, among many others.

When I look at the people who wish for Anwar to fail, I can’t even say that they are supporters of the opposition. They seem to despise him from the depths of their hearts as if he has offended them on some very personal basis.

When I wonder why they despise him with such venom, I can only think of three reasons.

First, these people used to be Anwar’s number one fans. When Anwar won in 2022, I remember most of them celebrating as if they themselves had won.

I think what changed between then and now is the identity that these people shared with Anwar.

In 2022, they likely saw themselves in him. If he was persecuted, they felt persecuted. If he lost, it was as if they lost. When he won, they celebrated as though they had won.

Today, however, it seems they have finally realised that Anwar is Anwar, and they are they, and just because he won, it doesn’t mean that they have won too. In fact, most of them actually feel like losers after Anwar won.

It’s the fact that they voted for him to become the country’s number one while Anwar is making them feel like losers by not giving them what they wanted after he rode on their votes to the throne in Putrajaya, that is probably causing them to feel so bitter and betrayed.

Secondly, I also think these people probably have a misguided sense of what principles mean.

They probably can’t tell the difference between being principled and being fanatical or dogmatic. This is the problem with half-baked people—they know the word but they don’t understand what it means.

Unlike what many people believe, having principles doesn’t mean that you should cling to a view like “Anwar is evil” and assume that he is up to no good, even when he keeps his word and finally does something that we all want, like bring the oil price down.

Having principles actually just means that you have a limit on what you will do to get what you want.

Thus, if you have principles, just because Anwar is on your side, it doesn’t mean he’s God’s gift to mankind. And when he’s on the side of those you think are against you, it doesn’t mean he’s the spawn of the devil.

A lot of people, even the highly educated ones, don’t seem to understand this. It is probably because they don’t understand this that they are hating on Anwar while sincerely believing that their dogmatism and fanaticism in clinging to the view that “Anwar has betrayed them” or “Anwar has betrayed Reformasi” is a sign of being principled.

Thirdly, I think many people are just hating on Anwar simply because he is winning.

As they say, winners always stand alone. When you’re a newly-minted winner, only your challengers will want to bring you down.

When you start looking like an top-notch winner, then everyone will join forces to bring you down.

Right now, Anwar looks like a top-notch winner—and thus he shouldn’t be surprised that nobody seems to have anything good to say about him.

At this stage of his victory, those who approve of his win, even if many, will only murmur their approval, while those who disapprove of his victory, even if few, will shout their disapproval from the rooftops.

When he hears their shouts, he shouldn’t think that he’s about to lose. Rather, he should just take pleasure in the fact that their ruckus is a sign that he has now reached the status of a top-notch winner. 

Nehru Sathiamoorthy is a roving tutor who loves politics, philosophy and psychology.

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.

- Focus Malaysia.