‘Kick out those who sodomise the nation’
Anwar Ibrahim may have sodomised a few fellows but BN leaders have been sodomising the entire nation for decades, argues one voter, with a shaving blade in hand.
RK Anand, FMT
Sporting a French beard is cumbersome, entailing a trip to the neighbourhood barbershop at least twice a week just to keep the darn thing in shape. Its fate hinges on the deft hand that wields the shaving blade.
During the last visit, I was mortified to discover that the regular Indian national barber was absent and in his place, slumped on the worn-out sofa, was an elderly Malaysian Indian gentleman.
His oil-slicked hair and loud red batik shirt did not inspire confidence but I was desperate. It was late, there was an important dinner on the schedule and I needed to look sharp. The slightest error would leave me no other option but to clean shave, which would feel queer.
With a stern expression, he smothered the shaving foam. In the background, the TV3 newscaster ranted about Saiful Bukhari Azlan’s insistence that Anwar Ibrahim sodomised him despite his father claiming otherwise.
I decided to break the ice and prod the barber’s views on this delicate subject. His reaction was astounding and left me wondering about his sexual orientation.
“So what if it’s true!” he thundered, as he inserted the blade into the shaving kit.
“Anwar might have sodomised a few fellows but these… [Tamil vulgarities censored]… have been sodomising the country for decades. So it’s time for us to sodomise them in the elections,” he hollered with excitement, waving the shaving kit in a menacing manner. I regretted bringing up the topic.
To the sapiosexual voter, Anwar’s heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual bedroom romps mean little. It is a matter of grave concern to his wife but not to the nation.
Attempting to discredit him on this note has little impact on most but on those that it does, these people are torn between believing the allegations and his claim that it is an insidious plot to frustrate his march towards the administrative capital.
Sexual escapades is a potent weapon in the arsenal of politicians the world over, who have exploited it to great effect against their rivals. Even here, one or two heads have rolled.
But it fails to hurt Anwar because the cases against him are riddled with holes, giving the impression of being ill-conceived conspiracies hatched in the minds of mediocre conspirators.
And in the case of the infamous sex videos, it was unwise to use those with tainted characters to character assassinate him, and thus failing the first litmus test of Conspiracy 101.
Assets and liabilities
Can Anwar be trusted? Of course not. Like all politicians, his tongue is forked and from it, will sprout a venomous trail of falsehood. Umno used to run in his veins, and now he wants to slit its throat and bleed it to death.
However, he claims to be a reformed man after being sacked, beaten, jailed and humiliated. Should he be extended the benefit of doubt? Yes. Because we too have made mistakes and learned from them. To err is human.
Both Anwar and PKR are the federal opposition bloc’s greatest assets and at the same time, its biggest liabilities.
To those who desire regime change, Anwar’s shortcomings and purported transgressions can be forgiven because he is the most important tool in their endeavour to demolish the Barisan Nasional fortress.
Until the advent of the new Anwar, there had been no strong Malay opposition leader to lead the charge against Barisan Nasional. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, during his Semangat 46 sojourn, was too much of a polished aristocrat to appeal to the Malay voters of all classes.
Anwar, on the other hand, is a street combatant and also regarded as a pious Muslim. He brings to the table what no other Umno politician has – guts. And his boldness has captured the imagination of the voters irrespective of class and age.
Credit must also be given to his wife and children, who stood alongside him throughout the numerous trials and tribulations, therefore lending more credence to his claim of being a victim of an evil plot.
Furthermore, when a venerated Muslim leader, garbed in robes, such as the PAS spiritual adviser can place his faith in Anwar’s leadership, then the simple God-fearing Muslim voter wonders about the basis of the allegations by the designer-suit clad Muslim leaders in Umno, whose alleged scandals, if arranged in a straight line, can cover the entire length of Putrajaya.
So attacking Anwar is counter-productive to BN, especially when it comes to winning the hearts and minds of those whose disdain for the ruling coalition far outweighs their reservations towards the opposition leader.
To these voters, he is an indispensable saint or sinner at this juncture.
