Haris Ibrahim – The Man and His Vision
Who is Haris Ibrahim, the man behind the ‘Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia’ initiative that will be launched at the Rumah Anak Bangsa Malaysia, Damasara on 16 September 2009 coinciding with the formation of the Federation of Malaysia. Many know him as the initiator and owner of the blog, ‘The People’s Parliament’.
I first came to know Haris at a talk on Bangsa Malaysia in PJ and subsequently at a Bangsa Malaysia Merdeka Forum and Get-Together on the evening of 25 August 2007. These Anak Bangsa Malaysia initiatives to me reflected the bold and rare determination of people of all races and religion coming together with one common aspiration, i.e. to drop all their tribal, communalistic thinking and prejudices and just to bond and love one another. To me, it was as Gandhi puts it – an experiment in truth.
On that night we had a rare treat from Black and Law Prof. Azmi Sharom with a rendition of ‘freedom’ songs but what caught me most was what Haris said, “As a fellow Bangsa Malaysia, I am willing to die for you – all of you, regardless of your race or religion”. This is truly the measure of a selfless soul who time and again risked his freedom to bring the message of change and the spirit of an Anak Bangsa Malaysia, forgiving, undividing, and always forging new relationships whilst breaking down barriers.
In early August 2007, a young lady e-mailed Haris and asked, amongst other things :
‘How did you come to this point of your life? Doing what you’re doing, writing what you’re writing?’
Here is Haris’s answer to her question which I would like to repost here:
