Port Dickson: A symbolic arena for Anwar’s return

The year is 2015. In the afternoon of Feb 10, current Pakatan Harapan de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim stands in front of five now-infamous Federal Court judges - Justices Arifin Zakaria, Md Raus Sharif, Abdul Hamid Embong, Suriyadi Halim Omar, Ramly Ali. 

A judge reads out the oral judgment and it is clear where this is going. 

Minutes after the verdict is delivered, then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s office issues a statement asserting the independence of the judiciary. All before the sentence is even carried out.

Before making his way to prison, Anwar rises to address the court one last time, in what would become a speech forever etched in history.

He starts by calling the trial a “complete fabrication” and calls the judges “great cowards of humanity”. 

Then chief justice Arifin Zakaria requests that Anwar’s lawyer Gopal Sri Ram stop his client, but the lawyer insists it was Anwar’s right to do so. 

Anwar continues, without mincing his words: 

“In bowing to the dictates of the political masters, you have become partners in crime for the murder of judicial independence and integrity. You have sold your souls to the devil, bartering your conscience for material gain and comfort and security of office.”

Sensing too much to bear, the judges walk out of the courtroom. 

Anwar raises his voice and stands closer to the microphone so the whole courthouse can hear him loud and clear. 

He pledges to never be silenced, and in a thunderous voice says that he will fight on for freedom and justice, and will “never surrender”.

Denied again and again

This still sends shivers down my spine. 

I was a law student then, only starting to learn and apply basic principles of law, politics, and governance from my textbooks. I didn’t expect to have my idealism shattered so quickly by the events that were unfolding at home.

Anwar’s conviction perfectly encapsulated how much demonic instincts it would take to use the heavy hand of government to decimate an individual and his family. 

After years and years of breaking the rules, I told myself that surely Najib wouldn’t dare to repeat what happened in 1999. But he did.

Throughout the years since 1998, Anwar had been denied again and again from legitimately carrying out his duties as deputy prime minister and an MP. All because he was regarded as too big a threat to his political opponents. 

Not only was he denied these rightfully earned opportunities, he was sent to the most horrific place known to a citizen - prison.

Electing Anwar as MP again is not about building an empire around his family. It is about redeeming the rights that were snatched away from him when he was thrown into prison by a political conspiracy of the highest order. 

He was not denied of the opportunity to run as MP due to his own folly. It was the result of a system of vengeance and venom that had primarily targeted Anwar and his family as its victim. 

It is not about glorification, it is about redemption. It is not about him, it is about us. 

Landing ground: Port Dickson

And what a glorious destination Port Dickson is for his return. A beach resort, an army town. 

It is where Malaysians love to go for a weekend getaway, to a quiet place of seaside serenity, a town just an hour away from Kuala Lumpur where the blue skies match the gentle waters. 

Port Dickson is also one of the many places where our army has been training, since the Malay Regiment’s first experimental training in 1933. The town was the staging area to liberate Malaya from the cruel Japanese occupation during World War II. 

Today, there are several training facilities and army camps in Port Dickson. Many ex-military men also choose this coastal town as their retirement abode. 

This is a symbolic arena for Anwar’s return. 

The army town embodies his sacrifice, bravery, and loyalty to the cause. The physical and mental torment that tested his bodily and spiritual limits. 

The beach town vibe also captures the easy charm and pensiveness of Anwar. A man in touch with the soul of reform and fully engaged with the plight of common people. 

There is really no better place than Port Dickson. 

Danyal Balagopal Abdullah (centre in photo) is a gracious man for allowing Anwar to contest his seat.

I hope when Anwar reach the shores of Port Dickson, the “light will shine” on him, as he said it would in his statement to the judges three years ago.

Nevertheless, the process of restoration in our conscience as one people is not completed with one by-election. There are still a few more miles to travel before the house is in order. 

Putting in power the man who was unduly vilified and has been through hell and back is just one way of defying the orders of past devils. 

This time he will not be denied again. He will fight on the beaches - and he will never surrender.

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JAMES CHAI works at a law firm. His voyage in life is made less lonely with a family of deep love, friends of good humour and teachers of selfless giving. This affirms his conviction in the common good of people: the better angels of our nature. He tweets at @JamesJSChai. - Mkini