I had a strange dream last night. In my dream, I met Anwar Ibrahim. He looked a little younger and slimmer than when he was in prison. I can't recall most of what we discussed, and when I woke up, I saw Anwar as positive and upbeat about the future of our country.
That morning I was delighted to read the Malaysiakini report of his declaration of good governance. He sounded resolute in wanting to rid his government of corrupt ministers with "immediate sacking" if ever anyone was found culpable. It was conviction politics, rising above the moral quagmire.
Why is good governance so important? It is because the majority of citizens depend on the country's public and private institutions to deliver what they need to survive and pursue their goals. Bad governance destroys all hope, even the people's lives.
I felt a sense of deja vu, but I was utterly gratified for Anwar's open declaration against the corrupt. Those of us who have long denounced corruption - the cancer of successive BN governments - must feel vindicated.
At long last, Malaysia has a leader of commendable conviction. How different it is from the criminal conviction of the infamous kleptocrat.
His daughter's bleating of his innocence insults our intelligence, defies the integrity of the judiciary and adds another good reason to expeditiously punish the corrupt.
Calling good evil and evil good is placing a moral curse on the nation. Some people don't understand that no one is above the law, not even a loved one.
Many years ago, while driving in a rural place, I met an elderly Malay man. I can't now recall the context of our tete-a-tete. But I clearly remember him denouncing his son's wrongful actions after his arrest by the police. He was determined that his son be punished by the law. He did not try to defend his son's crime.
In my dream, I told Anwar about the song I had written for him, about his incarceration. I told him that when I phoned the guy who was publicising the Reformasi movement then and told him about my song, he wasn't interested. Instead, he told me to send him money.
I thought it odd, for the song would have raised more money than any amount I would give. I did not send the song or the money. I was, naturally, baffled by the response and I later learned that this hero-turned-villain proved to be a turncoat and wrecking ball for the Reformasi cause.
Sometime later, I met Anwar's sister-in-law who was visiting Perth. She was my close former school friend's sister, a widow. I had shown her and her group, including my former school friend, around Perth. She was grateful and promised to cook me a nice Malay dinner back in Malaysia.
A year or so later she did that. After the sumptuous meal at her home (by the way, her late mother was a fantastic home cook in Penang), I told her about the song.
She wanted to hear it so I sang the song and played it on her grand piano for her. I can't remember what ensued and the song faded into the mist of time. It was a song of hope and overcoming injustice. It was part of the political history of Malaysia.
Many spheres of governance bastardised
For as long as Anwar was in the political wilderness, I had written on the politics of good governance and criticised bad governance that destroyed the nation. It was the least anyone could do to countervail the preponderant arrogance of the corrupt politicians in a hijacked country we all grew up in.
Many spheres of governance in the nation, not just the New Economic Policy, have been bastardised. Race and religion remain long-suffering victims.
A nation where one race acts above everyone must be a bad dream, even a bad joke. I had a good dream. Only the corrupt leaders laughed all the way to the bank. All the same, the rakyat struggled, and suffered, but did not succumb to their hardships. Bad politics spawned all types of personal and institutional perversion in the country.
Many blamed Dr Mahathir Mohamad for the moral slide, but others point the finger at Najib Abdul Razak. It is a moral failing to create disunity while in government. With Anwar Ibrahim at the helm now, there is hope for remedial structural change and redemption.
Another strange thing I did not tell anyone was the revelation I had, more than 20 years ago, that Anwar Ibrahim would ultimately become the prime minister of our country.
A reading of a particular verse in the Old Testament, one morning, impressed upon me that this unfairly oppressed man would rise above his enemies. After all, we are also taught that God elevates one and puts down another.
It was an impression I was careful not to talk about to anyone, or write on until now. Like many others, I had silently observed Anwar's ordeal from afar, his personal vicissitudes and glaringly unjust treatment, besides the 'black eye' he suffered.
The injustice of his court case proceedings infuriated many, but I was tacitly confident of an eventual, triumphant ending for him. The royal pardon was to balance the scales of justice.
For some uncanny reason, I felt led to intercede for Anwar and Malaysia, as I watered my potted plants every day in Australia. Why should I even bother, from so far away? A primaeval love of one's stolen country makes many Malaysians abroad bother to write, visit and return to vote. And perhaps why some make the ultimate sacrifice.
What is needed to change…
I never wavered in the intervening passing decades. Today, more than ever, like the Saudi Arabian government, I believe Anwar is the man of the hour for Malaysia.
Fire in the belly of an honest leader is what is needed to change a country where unethical politicians and their cronies treat political power as their road to riches.
Every country leader has made public promises to clean up corruption, but some leaders turned out better at cleaning out the public coffers.
Mahathir failed, big time, in promising a 'clean, efficient and trustworthy' government when he delivered the opposite. Pak Lah and his successors, like their former bosses, all made promises but turned out to be clouds that brought no rain.
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi facetiously warned his BN colleagues of jail time. Najib Abdul Razak recently warned of a scandal involving billions that will overshadow his 1MDB heist. Corruption thrives, but it must die. The corrupt must face the blaze of the law.
Anwar is today's Moses-like character. Moses had a vision and saw it die, only to be revived by divine intervention. Every true vision will go through a similar cycle, not always but often. Malaysians are more spiritual than not and understand the idea of providence.
Moses did not enter the Promised Land but led the people, a difficult lot, to its edge. It was to be another young man of faith and courage, Joshua, assisted by Caleb who completed what Moses had started, but was not divinely allowed to finish.
Anwar is the shore that will dissipate the force of the so-called 'green wave' in GE15. Waves rise and lose their energy when they melt and melt into the shore. Fed a toxin of lies, misinformation and slander against their religion's teachings, the impressionable and misled young voters, though not all, helped Perikatan Nasional (PN) surf to many electoral wins in GE15. Anwar is the bulwark that will stop the 'green' surge.
Like many Malaysians, I still hold the image of a distraught, dejected and deserted Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and her daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar, at the back of my mind. Once they had stood proudly alongside former PM Mahathir in public.
Persecuted, they became a picture of rejection and sorrow. Now, their story has gone full circle and Anwar, the lost heir apparent, has found his seat of power. This is a family of survivors. Now Anwar has to be more than a survivor, and an overcomer for the nation's sake.
For Anwar to fulfil his destiny, and not end up like Moses, who could only see the Promised Land from a distance, he needs all the help he can get. And many, I dare say, will help him if he asks. It is their love for the country.
All Anwar needs to do is to identify the talents at home and abroad who are willing, and able, to help him. There are three generations of Malaysians who can help him, besides the wise old men and women of politics.
Many baby boomers who once were captains of industry, accomplished professionals and so on, are now retired but still capable - and are there to help the nation. Not all, but many.
Younger leaders, the peers of the likes of Rafizi Ramli, Adam Adli and Hannah Yeoh, among others, will provide a steady stream of future leaders.
Then, there are the young ones, notably Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who, with other youths, form the third generation of future leaders. But every single one of them has to overcome the temptations and live blameless lives.
The 'dark state' threatens Anwar's unity government, but uprightness exalts a nation. Those who dig pits and erect gallows for others will fall into the pits themselves and hang in shame.
Together, Malaysia will rise and with Anwar, and a fortified team, with warts and all, and with the rakyat, we will all overcome evil with good. The time now is for overcoming evil. The day has come, and the night of stumbling will pass.
It is time to dream again! - Mkini
STEVE OH believes that Malaysia, under good governance and led by capable developmental leaders, can save the country from the dark powers of regression, perversion and bondage.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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