D-DAY FOR ANWAR & MALAYSIA: Feb 10, what does it mean to us

Some say February 10 will be the date that seals the fate of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the opposition leader who was once the deputy prime minister of the country.

But most Malaysians think that the date will decide not just Anwar’s fate but that of the country. Will this country remain a true democracy where dissenting voices are allowed? Will Malaysia, which practices the Westminster parliamentarian system, allow the ruling party to break all the rules and traditions to send the opposition leader to prison in order for it to remain in power ? Will the people of this country succumb to Putrajaya’s power and choose to remain silent?

These are the questions that will be answered February 10.

Anwar said he expected to be freed. His optimistic prediction, as he put it, is based on the law, solid legal principles, fair trial and principled judges. Many however are less optimistic because there has been a unmistaken degradation of the judiciary after the sacking of a chief justice and many senior judges by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1988.

There are ample examples of court judgments that caused uproar in the country in recent years.

The murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shariibuu, where two policemen were sentenced to death sentence with no apparent motive. Iin the case of political aide Teoh Beng Hock, the High Court upheld the Coroner's verdict that Teoh's death “was neither a suicide nor homicide”.

But one of the biggest mockeries of the judiciary was the Sodomy II trial of Anwar where the Court of Appeal took only two days, despite the voluminous documents of evidence, to overturn the acquittal of the High Court and sentenced him to five years in prison.

We believe justice should not only be done but should be seen to be done. Hence, during the trial of Anwar, the independence of the judiciary and the integrity of the judges have been put on trial simultaneously by the people.

“Justice for Anwar” was probably the general sentiment of protesters during the first sodomy charge against Anwar, but the public sentiment in Sodomy II has clearly demonstrated a shift from seeking justice for an individual to fighting justice for all. It is because people have come to realise that we are no long living in safety as we watch how innocent people are being persecuted in the name of the law, while murderers are protected and got away scot free, some even got promoted.

And if you are poor and get arrested, you may die of unknown cause in the lock-up, or worse – still be brought to the jungle and blasted by C4 explosives by some cops for no obvious reason, which, as suggested by Razak Baginda, the former political analyst of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, is something quite normal and not to be questioned.

Anwar Ibrahim

Besides the loss of trust and confidence in the judiciary and the police, the common folks are confronted with the unbearable pressure of the ever increasing cost of living. Umno and its affiliate Perkasa have been trying to put the blame on the Chinese for making the Malay poor.

But the old trick has lost its magic when more and more people have braved persecution by the authority to expose corruption, incompetence and mismanagement of the government which have resulted in a slackening economy, concentration of wealth in the hand of the elite and general increase of poverty in the country. Leading at the forefront of the reform movement is Anwar who himself is a victim of political persecution.

Responding to the call for reform, tens of thousands of people have gone to the streets to make their stand and demands. After the arrest of Anwar, there were the Hindu rights group Hindraf, electoral reforms watchdog Bersih, and movements such as Kebangkitan Rakyat and Black 505. The huge turnout at these peaceful demonstrations was never seen in this country before 1998. This is the awakening of the people and the dawn of a new era.

People who say Anwar is instigating mass protests to save his own neck are either oblivious of the suffering of the people or underestimating their intelligence.

Friend or foe, one must agree that Anwar has ignited the fire in many, giving them the courage to fight on. He has stubbornly refused to leave the country. By his actions, he tells his people: “Fear not, lawan tetap lawan!” – TMI