Figuring out Anwar Ibrahim

www.malaysia today.net

Figuring out Parti KeADILan Rakyat(PKR)’s Ketua Umum

by Wong Mun Chee

Politicians are never our saviours. We the people need to be savvy enough to understand and comprehend with apprehension the true objectives of a politician.

A simple recap, in 1972 Anwar Ibrahim formed ABIM and served as their leader. In 1982, he surprised everyone by joining UMNO. In 1993, he was made the Deputy Prime Minister after forcing out (Tun) Ghafar Baba. In 1999 after his incarceration, PKR was formed and the rest I guess is the new politics that we see today with the same old political agenda.

The economist ran a pretty decent piece on Anwar and they described him as the Malaysian chameleon (see link http://www.economist.com/node/14140818.) Now let’s get down to facts to see whether he is a chameleon.

While in ABIM, it was a Muslim agenda; then in UMNO, it was more a Malay agenda by introducing numerous pro-Malay policies in the national school curriculum. One of the major changes that Anwar did was to rename the national language from Bahasa Malaysia to Bahasa Melayu. I wonder where One Malaysia or Malaysian First fits in here.

Other notable events such as the Kampong Rawa incident in March 1998 where there was a tense stand-off when politically motivated Muslims emerged from Friday prayers in an adjacent mosque and marched in numbers to the Sri Raja Raja Madurai Veeran temple in Kampung Rawa.During this incident, the negotiator – Mr. Anwar – threatened the Hindus there to accept whatever he said, otherwise he said no temple bells will be sounded in Penang. Knowing MIC, what would you expect? Naturally the temple was demolished and relocated even when it had stood there before the mosque came into the picture.

Another interesting event is of course the insertion of UMNO proxies in Sabah since its inception in 1991. Naturally the progenitor is none other than our famous Anwar.

Anwar sympathizers will naturally cry foul for the follies and frolics of their man during his reign against the community generally, as after all he did face persecution for his ambitious attempt to overthrow the mighty Machiavellian, Dr. Mahathir, by being another Machiavellian. Basically it was a clash of the Titans with little relevance for public concern or needs but their race to power.

The interesting point to be taken into consideration is, the charmed character of Anwar did not serve his imprisonment for a cause for the society but rather being a seasoned politician, he was able to gain public sympathy through his Reformasi.

Fast forward 2011, amongst the three opposition coalition parties, the one that seems to be a time bomb seems to be PKR. Why? Same principle – all proxies to ensure Anwarism, no difference from the UMNO style with their allies, gain power.

Why am I bringing this up? I’ll tell you why. Little birds in the sky have been chirping to me that Anwar has recently met with Taib (Sarawak) and Musa (Sabah) beyond the Malaysian waters.

Now what is the purpose of meeting UMNO cronies? Trust me. In politics, it is not about principle but where and when the deal can be struck. Even the enemy is your friend. Naturally we all know that Peninsular is 50-50, but East Malaysia is where the real power is for the political swing. What they discussed or why, is a good guess for you as much as it is for me.

Let’s ponder on my own theories. Taib and Musa have been under a lot of heat and it is unlikely that UMNO can hold it together for them as they need to take care of their own backyard in Peninsular. Anwar has his days numbered; either he goes behind bars or strike a deal for a swing in power and in exchange for these blokes to continue with their billionaire lifestyle and fulfill his own agenda to become the Prime Minister.

You see, once he is in power it is very difficult to question anything. Look at UMNO, a classic example,for 53 years. And why go so far? Even PAKATAN within their four states exercise and exhibit similar agendas with lots of media propaganda for the feel good factor so what more with seasoned politicians.

On another take, for all you know, Anwar may be negotiating with Najib as he would now realize that PKR is falling apart as most are UMNO rejects or his proxies. I would do that, if I am a politician. Wouldn’t you?

Why would Najib negotiate with Anwar? Well, for one a common enemy ,Dr Mahathir. Najib has Dr Mahathir nibbling at his feet from day one since he has been the Premier. The current Deputy Prime Minister, a crony of Dr Mahathir comes with such contradictory statements from the current Premier it is like another subtle proxy war. Is it so difficult to fathom this? It is always good to read between the lines to find the true agenda.

I won’t be surprised that one day Anwar will turn around and tell Najib he thinks Najib is doing the right thing as they have a common enemy in sight. He may want to maintain his freedom by enhancing Najib’s position just to avoid serving a prison sentence.

The crux of this letter is, politicians are never our saviours. We the people need to be savvy enough to understand and comprehend with apprehension the true objectives of a politician. This can only materialize if they are steadfast in their principle from day one, not swaying and swinging for political needs no matter how you see it. A good politician and its true meaning is to serve the society without the typical grandeur that we observe with Anwar as and when it fitsthe agenda.

This can only happen if your individual action is in place to check and balance them as I attempted to do with Anwar Ibrahim. Whether I have my doubts about Anwar is secondary. It is your call as the society to flush out artificial politicians.