May Anwar never lose sight of reformasi spirit

It has been 112 days since Perikatan Nasional hijacked Putrajaya and Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn into office. During this period, PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim has cautiously refrained from taking Muhyiddin to task over the lawlessness of his administration.

However, when it comes to former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar (above) has not quite maintained that same silence. Why the difference?

Yes, one certainly can’t deny that the two statespersons aren’t exactly best friends. In fact, it’s no secret that their relationship has been mostly rocky in the past few decades.

But at the same time, it is also undeniable that for all of Mahathir’s failings, and they are countless, the nonagenarian has still chosen the difficult route of standing by the people's mandate. In the aftermath of the Sheraton Move, he has stood firm in opposing Muhyiddin who turned on Pakatan Harapan and betrayed his closest allies.

As for Anwar, reports have been circulating of his meetings with Muhyiddin and Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin, who is also secretary-general of Bersatu.

These meetings have caused some concern and uneasiness - could the unthinkable be possible, that Anwar is negotiating a deal with Muhyiddin in his bid to recapture Putrajaya and resurrect Harapan? What is his agenda for meeting some of the key architects responsible for engineering Harapan’s downfall?

In light of PKR rejecting Mahathir as Harapan’s candidate for prime minister, would Anwar really do whatever it takes to shore up support as long as Mahathir is kept out of the limelight, including accepting Harapan Trojan horses and PN leaders?

Furthermore, Kedah PKR chief Johari Abdul has also confirmed that the party leadership has decided to allow Anwar free rein in approaching whoever he wishes if it aids him in his quest to reclaim the federal government. In Johari’s words, “He (Anwar) met with many people, except (former PM) Najib Abdul Razak.”

Given that Anwar has remained tight-lipped about what transpired during those meetings, one can only speculate. However, speculations alone bring us nowhere. Moreover, PKR vice-president Chang Lih Kang has come forth to allay fears of PKR back-dealing with PN and reassured its allies that any arrangements are always subject to Harapan’s unanimous approval.

So, let’s not jump the gun and assume the worst of Anwar. For Anwar isn’t just any man, and it wouldn’t be fair or just to compare him to the likes of Mahathir. Unlike Anwar, Mahathir has never tasted the prison life and 11 years at that, for what many believe to have been politically motivated charges.

Irrefutably, the man of sorrows has suffered beyond what most of us could ever humanly imagine and has been very much shaped by his long years in jail.

The reality is this - both PN and Harapan have been scrambling to obtain enough numbers to secure a strong parliamentary majority. Therefore, Anwar meeting various PN and Sarawak state leaders shouldn’t strike us as something suspicious as Harapan simply doesn’t have sufficient support at the moment.

Like it or not, the fact remains that for Harapan to come back into power and prevent Sheraton 2.0, it would need more than just a few MPs from the opposing bloc to cross over.

This need to further strengthen support could also be the same reason why Anwar hasn’t come down hard on Muhyiddin. His restraint in criticising the latter could simply boil down to not wanting to throw out the possibility of Bersatu rejoining Harapan.

Anwar, we know you’re a fighter. We believe that you wouldn’t just casually abandon your long-held principles for power. Come what may, we hope that you will never lose the spirit of reformasi you first stirred up in us so long ago.

You once said, “God is my witness. I will not be silent. I will never surrender.” So for as long as you keep fighting for a better Malaysia, Malaysians and your Harapan allies will fight for you and alongside you.    - Mkini