My personal opinion of Anwar Ibrahim

It is without a doubt Anwar possesses some great characteristics; none greater than his spectacular oratory skills enabling him to sway and eventually command a good majority of the general public’s opinion.

I have my personal reservations about him, not because I find him incapable to be PM but I find that his character is suspect.

I shall list my reasons below for debate, kindly bear in mind I am no expert of his biography:

1) Baling incident;
Anwar did cause an uproar regarding the few deaths due to starvation there. However, one must ask oneself what was his intention? What would you have done if you were in his shoes? Most people would have tried to organize channelling of food there, writing in to government bodies for necessary help, donations etc. In short, usually within the confines of the law.

You must also understand that this took place in the 70’s long before the corrupt-infested government that is so evident today. Death due to starvation in Malaysia (for that matter anywhere in the world) should never happen but I am quite sure it occurred due to the inefficiency of the government of that day and had nothing to do with their corruption or ill conscience.

For whatever Anwar’s genuine intention of leading a demonstration then, the fact is it definitely catapulted his political career. Coming from a family where his father was one of the youngest UMNO MPs, I am quite sure he knew what he was doing and where that incident will take him.

2) ISA detainee; 
As some say, according to his fellow detainees like Syed Hussin etc, he kept them entertained and the overall mood there was great. Agreed he has a great sense of humor and that is all.

3) UMNO/PAS;
He chose UMNO because …. Let me guess ….”I’m going to change UMNO from within ” … yeah RIGHT! How so original! What a sacrifice!

4) His legacy in UMNO;
What legacy are we talking about here? My limited knowledge tells me his moronic decision to introduce Bahasa Baku when he was the Education Minister. We found it strange trying to decipher the new lingo on RTM news.

As the Finance Minister, he fought tooth and nail against pegging the ringgit when on hindsight we are all aware was a masterstroke by Dr M that saved not just Malaysia but this region.

Whose brilliant idea was it to give hard earned tax payers money amounting to RM 1 billion to Indonesia and that too when we were going through one of our worst financial crisis.

Was someone trying to look good on the international stage?

5) He is Mr Clean;
Could anyone believe that Anwar could maneuver himself within UMNO’s corridors of ‘lepers’ and rise to be the Deputy President just on Dr M’s patronage alone without greasing a few hands and closing one eye here and there along the way?

Just because he was never caught does not do justice to the argument here. If it needs be reminded, even with Pakatan Rakyat now controlling 4 states, it is difficult to unearth dirt on most UMNO leaders. ‘Angels’ like Mohd Taib, Samy Velu etc still remain clean in the eyes of the ‘law’.

6) He couldn’t do much because of Dr M;
Which only means that he was aware of the injustices that were going around but did nothing. Just great isn’t it! Here is a guy who went out of his way to highlight the Baling incident but suddenly chooses to remain silent within the system. Wasn’t this the same guy who once said he joined UMNO because ….

7) That was then now is now;
Fine, acceptable. So I guess he must be sorry and regretful about it? NO! To date I would like to put it on record there has been no public apology or mention of any regret! So what is going on then? What reforms are we then talking about for the future?

8) Drama Queen;
During last year’s BERSIH rally, in case you are unaware, Anwar was not involved in the formation of the petition that was to be given to the Agong. However, at the precise moment of the handing over of the petition, guess who appears driven in on a 500cc bike and that too 15 to 30 minutes late so everyone had to wait for his grand arrival? What was supposed to be a rakyat’s initiative attended by thousands of people from all walks of life was hijacked right under their noses by saudara Anwar.

During the HINDRAF rally (pre and post), was Anwar around? However, guess who was suddenly there championing the Indians’ rights in Klang just after the infamous HINDRAF 5 ISA arrests. Wow, what a ‘Makkal Sakthi’ guy! The Turkish embassy fiasco and of course the the Sept 16 drama that practically crippled the whole country economically.

9) His sacrifice going to jail from 1998 to 2004;
That, I’m afraid has nothing to do with the rakyat. He fell out of favour with the dictatorial Dr M and suffered his wrath. That was not his sacrifice to the rakyat at all however wrong it was. Anwar only ‘saw the light’ for reformation after losing his job as a DPM. While in UMNO and wearing his Armani suits, somehow reformasi was the furthest thing on his mind. Since 1998 till today, the entire country is still fighting Anwar’s personal sodomy trials, while ‘Rome burns’!

So my friend, leaving aside Anwar’s superior oratory skills and empowering personality, what else has he proven himself to us? I know of a similar late Malay actor/singer who possessed similar atributes but did not go far politically. Should we regret that ?

Please do not misinterpret what I am trying to put across here. I do believe we are on the crossroads of political change and Anwar is at the moment our best candidate by chance or default to be our next PM. However, what is more important is the rakyat should be the ones in control and not just one person.

We must watch him and Pakatan Rakyat like hawks once they take control of the government and never ever make the same mistakes we did with BN.

Be a patriot and think out of the box!