Why the outcome of Anwar’s trial matters to every Malaysian

 

 

On January 9th 2012, the Kuala Lumpur High Court will deliver its verdict in the sodomy trial of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim. The entire proceedings have been widely condemned as a show trial of a type frequently resorted to by authoritarian regimes to crush political opponents. But Anwar has a long track record of never giving in. He has already declared that whatever the outcome on January 9th, he will never surrender. He will be as good as his word – prison did not break or silence Anwar before, it will not do so now.

 

But what is at stake here is more than the opposition leader’s personal freedom. 54 years ago, the people of this nation were promised that their newly independent land would be free and democratic; and the hopes of the people were given expression in the highest law of the land, the Federal Constitution. This promise was wilfully broken by the political coalition that has ruled this country from that day onwards. The same judiciary that will pass judgement upon Anwar Ibrahim on January 9, utterly failed to uphold the fundamental freedoms contained in the Constitution and allowed the Executive to trample over the basic rights of the Rakyat. Thus for more than half a century, the people have suffered under harsh laws, widespread corruption and the abuse of public office for profit and self-enrichment. The people, to whom this nation rightfully belongs, have been reduced to poor petitioners at the door of Putrajaya, where Umno/BN leaders and their hangers-on lord over the people.

 

The antithesis of the Umno regime is the Anwar-led opposition coalition whose central purpose is to repeal all oppressive and anti-democratic laws and to restore to the people their constitutional freedoms; to end the country’s massive losses from corruption; and to ensure a just and equitable distribution of the nation’s wealth. Umno is now trying to halt this great Malaysian walk to freedom by attempting to politically annihilate Anwar Ibrahim through a justice system which is partial and compliant. This is why January 9 matters to every Malaysian. Anwar’s defiant stand against an unjust system gives the rakyat renewed strength and hope in the face of the oppressor’s brute force, and fortifies the rakyat’s determination to push for change and reform.This then is the climactic moment in the battle for the kind of nation we want to live in, and the type of values we want to bequeath to a future generation of Malaysians. Whichever way the verdict goes on January 9th, we can take heart that soon enough it will be the Rakyat’s turn to deliver verdict upon an unrighteous and persecuting government.