Malaysia's persecution of Anwar: Hard to keep a good man down

Kenny Gan, Malaysia Chronicle

There are some events in a nation’s history that have deep and lasting effect, causing ripples that radiate outwards and affect the thoughts and feelings of future generations. Some are joyful and a cause for annual celebrations while others are tumultuous events that leave deep scars in the national psyche like a troubling memory that will not go away.

The Americans have to live with the disturbing aftermath of the Hiroshima atomic bombing while the rise of Nazism still haunts the German soul. Decades later, Americans are still traumatized by the assassination of John F. Kennedy while the release of Nelson Mandela and the end of apartheid is celebrated as a historic milestone in South Africa.

The cataclysmic fall from grace of Anwar Ibrahim under Mahathir marked a shameful episode in Malaysian political history and one that will haunt the national psyche for a long time. All the apparatus of government, the criminal justice system and the sanctity of democratic institutions were violated and manipulated to destroy Anwar to satisfy one man’s vindictive ego. Anwar spent six years in jail before the judges found their courage under a new prime minister to right the miscarriage of justice and release him.

So much water has flowed under the bridge. After the tumultuous events of Anwar’s sacking, the riotous demonstrations and the cries of “Reformasi!” the nation settled down to a resigned acceptance. Life goes on, festivals and birthdays arrive with clockwork regularity and boy still meets girl in the park. Another two elections have come and gone and Mahathir has been succeeded by two prime ministers. The world experienced another gut wrenching economic crisis and a black American has been elected as the President of the United States. New words like blogs, youtube, facebook and twitter enter common usage as Malaysia embraced the internet age.

But it is difficult to keep a good man down and Anwar has returned as opposition leader after forging the disparage opposition parties into a workable coalition and engineering the biggest election setback in BN history. Despite the injustice, humiliation and harsh treatment meted out to him he has been remarkably free of hatred or revenge even as Mahathir continues to attack him while a lesser man would be consumed.

The knives are out for him again as BN faces its first real fear of losing political power. An almost comical repeat of the old sodomy charge has been staged to get him out of the way; a charge every bit as crude, ludicrous and abusive as the old one with the case falling apart promptly. The script has only one ending – his conviction and imprisonment. That such a scandalous show could be repeated after 12 years show that Malaysia has made zero progress in good governance and democratic rights.

Prison is always a grim prospect for anybody but for man of Anwar’s age and one who has experienced the horror once it is even grimmer. A man of weaker character and mettle may have taken the easy way out and retired from politics to the delight of the ruling regime which would lose no haste in dropping the fabricated charges. He could also choose to oppose the regime from the safety and comfort of self-exile overseas. An opportunist may even decide to leapfrog over the political divide and line his pocket with enough wealth for himself and his next generation. That Anwar continues to fight the regime with no let up and with the prospect of prison hanging over his head is a measure of his uncommon mental strength. Some men are like butter, they soften with heat. Anwar is like steel which becomes stronger when tempered in fire.

But Anwar’s sacrifice may not be in vain. Enough people may be disgusted by the brazen show of institutional and judicial abuse to vote against BN. With BN having lost the majority of the Chinese votes and half of the Indian votes it will only take a 5% Malay swing to boot BN out. Such a swing did occur in 1999 after the first sodomy conviction but the non-Malays were too racked by racial and religious fears to vote overwhelmingly against BN. The mindset of the people then cannot accept being governed by any coalition other than BN but the same cannot be said to be true now.

Is Anwar fighting for a better Malaysia or for his own political ambition? Critics may say that Anwar just wants to be prime minister but if that is his only goal he could have achieved it by agreeing to whatever economic abuses Mahathir wants. Why do it the hard way when the prime ministership was already on his platter?

Perhaps it was destiny that Anwar was kicked out from Umno and rose again as the leader of a new party dedicated to social justice and multi-racialism. Within Umno, he would never be able to effect widespread change even as President of the party and Prime Minister of the country, bearing in mind how deeply Umno is steeped in corruption and racism. Anwar is the first Malay leader to campaign on a platform of fair treatment for all races which among Umno leaders is synonymous with political suicide.

One may compare Anwar with the Kelantan prince Tengku Razaleigh who also spent a stint opposing Mahathir in his Semangat 46 days. He has since rejoined Umno and seems content to be sidelined in the political hierarchy. Ku Li has criticized Umno stridently but when challenged he is quick to affirm his loyalty to Umno. His principles are laudable but he will not leave his comfort zone as a member of the ruling party to fight for them. Between Ku Li and Anwar, we see an armchair critic and a fearless fighter.

Politicians like Ibrahim Ali, Wee Choo Keong and Ezam Mohd Nor have tasted prison before under ISA when they opposed the ruling regime. Prison has changed them but not for the better. It has only made them decide that being in the ruling party’s good books is the better part of valour and it pays in more ways than one.

A leader like Anwar with strength, passion, vision and charisma only comes once in a lifetime. Natural leaders like him are born, not trained or groomed. We are blessed to have such a leader as the nation faces an uncertain future in a changing world and relentless economic decline. It is no more possible to find a replacement for Anwar any more than it is possible to find a replacement for Martin Luther King.

Anwar is ready to sacrifice his freedom and the companionship of his family for the hardship of prison in his fight for a better Malaysia. He will not take the easy way out and he will not give up. No matter which political divide you are from and whether you agree with his politics you have to admire his fortitude, perseverance and moral courage.

When the gavel falls with a dull thud after judge has delivered his expected verdict an innocent man will lose his freedom. When the prison door clangs shut it will sound a death knell for justice; not just for Anwar but for everybody, not just for Anwar but for all Malaysians.