Sept 20 will mark the 25th anniversary of the reformasi movement triggered by Anwar Ibrahim.
It began in 1998 when he invited the rakyat to join him on a fight for change, and almost 25 long years later, Anwar has finally made it to the country's top office.
However, after barely 10 months in office, the reform agenda championed by Anwar and his supporters had been making headlines, often for the wrong reasons.
For instance, Pakatan Harapan's political foes often use the term to mock Anwar's government, by twisting the word to "reformati" (dead reforms) or "reforbasi" (stale reforms), especially after Harapan started working with its former foe BN to form the coalition government after the 15th general election (GE15).
The latest episode that made the opposition step up its attacks is the discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) granted to Deputy Prime Minister and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in the Yayasan Akalbudi corruption case.
In the eyes of staunch Anwar supporter group Otai Reformis, the attacks by the prime minister's political foes on his coalition government are baseless and stem from resentment.
Otai Reformis pro-tem chairperson Mustapa Mansor said that Perikatan Nasionaluses the narrative to cause a split within the government.
This is because PN has no other way to ensure its political survival, other than disrupting and weakening the unity in Putrajaya.
"After GE15, Harapan garnered 84 parliamentary seats, which was short of the 112 seats needed for a simple majority to form the government.
"Thus, the reform-championing party heeded the advice of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and implemented a few strategies to work with its former foe BN," Mustapa told Malaysiakini.
At that juncture, Anwar was advised by his "friends" within Harapan, about the two options available then.
"The first option was to become the opposition again, and the second was to become the government by making several adjustments according to the current scenario, without fully abandoning the reform agenda."
Asked about the backlash against Zahid's DNAA, Mustapa stressed it was merely a narrative played up by PN, as Anwar has already explained that he does not interfere in court cases.
In stressing Anwar's non-interference in the judiciary, Mustapa cited the quashing of PN chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin's four abuse of power charges linked to the Jana Wibawa programme last month.
He also cited the acquittal of former Sabah chief minister Musa Aman from 46 charges of corruption and money laundering linked to timber concessions in the state.
"Zahid's DNAA 'coincidentally' happened during Anwar's administration, which has culminated in the latter being accused of failed reforms.
"I would like to stress that 'reformasi' is not dead; it's just that we are playing in different fields," said Mustapa, urging his comrades to continue marching forward.
According to Mustapa, the reform agenda was effected once before, albeit for a short period of time, when Harapan accepted Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the prime minister for a second time.
That, he said, was because Harapan was unaware that Mahathir could cause the fall of the Harapan administration from within.
"That served as a huge lesson for us, so we won't fall for tactics by foes of Anwar and the reform agenda.
"In fact, the coalition government today is also part of the reform agenda, where Harapan agreed to work (with BN) in a coalition government."
PN's relentless attacks against Anwar are due to bitterness of not being able to form the federal government, he added.
"With the fight for 'reformasi' approaching its 25th year, I hope my friends will be more committed to bringing about changes in the country,” said Mustapa.
"I'm confident that in the next five years if we remain consistent with the reform agenda through the Madani approach, Malaysians will enjoy better freedom of speech, freedom in politics, and better life values." - Mkini
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