Who should look in the mirror?

 

ADUN SPEAKS | Former attorney-general Tommy Thomas is sad and curious as to why PKR president Anwar Ibrahim has yet to become the prime minister.

He recently said he was sad that Anwar was sent to prison for sodomy and corruption when he was the deputy prime minister under the then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Yet, he cannot understand why Anwar, one of the favourites to become the prime minister during the Harapan administration and afterwards, is still in the wilderness.

This is despite the fact that Anwar had on a few occasions claimed that he had the majority.

Thomas was a bit perturbed by these assertions from Anwar as the post has been eluding him for some time.

I think Thomas, without fully grasping the volatile politics of the country, comes to an immature conclusion that the fault is not with others but with Anwar himself.

This is the reason why he asked Anwar to take a serious look at himself in the mirror as to why the prime minister’s post is constantly eluding him.

The metaphor ‘look in the mirror’ was to suggest that Anwar was the main stumbling block to his own ascension and not others.

Whether the metaphor is appropriate to be used for Anwar remains to be seen.

Critical thinking

I think the metaphor ‘look in the mirror’ is rather appropriate for those who serve the public.

It is a process of self-reflection in which individuals especially those occupying high public offices can think critically and weigh the pros and cons of their actions.

It is an important mechanism that does not automatically put the blame on others.

PKR president Anwar Ibrahim

It is not that Anwar never made mistakes in the past but it is just that circumstances were not conducive to his rise.

Yes, he should look in the mirror not once but many times.

There are others, who directly and indirectly derailed Anwar’s plan, who must also look in the mirror as often as possible.

Thomas should do the same

For that matter, Thomas, who resigned as the attorney-general after 22 months, must also look in the mirror to answer some questions related to the arrest and detention of 12 individuals under Sosma on charges of links with LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam) terrorism.

By the way, the LTTE was defeated in 2009 in Sri Lanka before the three-decade-old civil war was ended. It is a dead and defunct organisation.

Wasn’t he who approved their detention under Sosma? Why charge them in the first place when there was no evidence?

Was Thomas under pressure from politicians like Mahathir and Muhyiddin Yassin?

And finally, why release them when they should not have been detained in the first place, just before his resignation?

These are some of the questions that were not answered in his memoir, My Story: Justice in the Wilderness.

Maybe a time has come for Thomas to come out in the open about these LTTE detentions.

I suggest that Thomas himself should look in the mirror to explain the anomalies of their arrest, detention and release.

Slim chances

In the second round, under the Harapan administration, Anwar became the victim of Mahathir’s vindictive politics.

This was despite the promise made by Mahathir to hand over the post to Anwar within two years.

But unfortunately, Harapan failed to ensure Anwar’s political ascendancy by being too obsequious to Mahathir. Anwar never really pushed for it.

In the post-Harapan period, the likelihood of Anwar becoming the prime minister seems to be shrouded in the ambiguous game of getting the required numbers and so on.

Chances for Anwar becoming the prime minister are getting slimmer, day by day. Whatever the case, the option cannot be foreclosed. - Mkini

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P RAMASAMY is Perai assemblyperson and Penang deputy chief minister II.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.