It Never Ends, This Reformasi Shit..

He wants 1998 reformasi to reverberate across the corridors of power once more, while simultaneously casting PAS on the fritz. 

Raggie Jessy

Anwar Ibrahim has had a foot in Azizah’s grave for a while now. It is the whereabouts of his other foot, the one that was in his mouth since Kajang, which concerns me. The last I checked, it was anchored in his grave, while he took the piss out of a people ticking over in Selangor. And today, he’s just about ticked off a pregnant sum to his loyalists, who would now vouch for anything but Anwar.

While his apologists have begun composing epic renditions in anticipation of his political demise, many aren’t aware, that when you dream of a funeral, you’re likely to hear of a marriage. And Anwar is bound to tinkle those matrimonial bells once more as he bands together a cabal against snakes in his turf. The problem is this; shadows from his past have crept up, blotting out his conscience to such an extent, that just about everyone whose name does not end with ‘izah’ or ‘izi’ seems quite the vile serpent.

Meanwhile, pro-Reformasi group Lensa joined the rank of political renegades who have written Anwar off their charts, casting him out as a back-number. Or so it seems. In fact, they’re going so far as to strip the sainthood out of him; Anwar is the apotheosis of justice no more. Rather, he is the albatross Pakatan could do without, a rift in the lute.

However, the manner with which Lensa came forth to denigrate Anwar says a lot about the group. They couldn’t have had a better choice for words. That is to say, they seem to have known all along, that Anwar advocated ‘dirty politics’. Now, this is a group that sloped towards a confederacy in his favour while chanting defiant slogans ever since his ass got on the line.

So who is who, and what is what?

1. It’s a Game Two can Play

That’s right; Anwar seems to be playing possum. His aloofness is by no means a chance-medley. At least, I do not think so.

Lensa appears to have hopped out from nowhere onto PAS’s bandwagon with a sneaky no-go on Anwar. You see, Hadi and his band of ulamas have been determined to bundle Anwar up along with his bag of dirty tricks since before Kajang. Khalid’s ouster merely presented an extenuating circumstance in casting Anwar off their shit-list, with Hadi abstracting chronology in a manner that poured cold water on Anwar’s Kajang bullshit. And yes, Hadi is bent as hell to sully Anwar’s repute.

But just some weeks back, Lensa was on Anwar’s bandwagon, taking potshots at PAS over Azizah’s candidature. Now it appears to have been struck by a moral epiphany of sorts, preferring that Anwar hitches a ride all the way through a political shithole. And no, I’m not referring to the orifice that got him estranged in the first place. We’re done with that.

So Lensa appears to comprise fickle minded opportunists who are dodgy over their allegiance. Or are they? Are they placing wagers on Selangor’s next top model, and in the process, getting lost in the shuffle? Or are they rebels without a legitimate cause, seeking fame and glory, all in one breath?

Neither.

You see, Lensa’s feeble-mindedness will work well for Anwar either way. It was Anwar’s jiggery-pokery that got Hadi up in arms with PKR and DAP over the Selangor cock-up in the first place. It is no secret, that Hadi’s inner coterie has just about had it with Anwar’s brand of politics.

So, whichever direction Lensa hurls its garbage, it is PAS that seems to get crap all over its face. That is to say, while Hadi adherents fence off at a breakneck pace with Kit Siang’s DAP over booze in October and a whole lot of nickels-and-dimes, Lensa is busy driving the Islamic party further down the doldrums by turning its members against DAP and turning you against PAS.

2. There’s Anwar, and then, there’s more of Anwar

Lensa is nothing but a political artifice designed to seek insurgents from within.

Now, Lensa wants you to know, that Anwar is in fact a victim-of-circumstance-turned-liability for Pakatan Rakyat. They prefer you to conjure a world where Anwar will remain a punching bag in UMNO’s grandiose power play. And they’re impeaching Anwar’s credibility on these pretexts, fanning unrest among loyalists who are all too wet behind the ears.

Lensa is reminding you folks of a ‘machination’ by UMNO to throw Anwar to the dogs. Now, ask yourselves; why would anyone antagonize one who’s a victim of a purported political subterfuge? Particularly, why should Anwar bear the brunt of UMNO’s ‘ruse’ when it is UMNO that should be castrated? And why should Lensa, an establishment likely formed and funded by PKR, turn its cannons on Anwar?

But that is precisely why Lensa is where it is, doing what it does. It’s through their lenses that Anwar is taking aim at apostates while shooting provocative darts at his audience, fanning unrest and seeking empathy from a people sick of his antics.

So it’s back to UMNO vs Anwar. PKR’s Machiavellian ringleader wants you to tell Lensa that you’ve not given up on him, and that you’re angry with UMNO for having their knives in his back. He wants 1998 reformasi to reverberate across the corridors of power once more, while simultaneously casting PAS on the fritz.

That’s right. Lensa is there to help Anwar gear up for the solidarity march come 21st October. And it prefers that you get there antagonized, chocked in fury. From where I stand, they seem to want a revolt of sorts.

Like I said, just when you dream of a funeral, you’re likely to hear of a marriage.

3. It never ends, this Anwar shit

Anwar turned many of you against Selangor’s royalty. He’s surreptitiously turning his cabal against Azmin by shaking his stable up. He’s now turning you against PAS and UMNO, all in the same breath. And I’ll bet that he’d turn you against the Pope, if it served to his intrigues.

Anwar’s modus operandi is nothing to shout about. That is, if you knew what to shout about. But you don’t. You’ve probably taken in Lensa’s disposition literally.

While Anwar did a number on loyalists with the Lensa bullshit, he got Jingga 13 to exonerate him even before the cows got home. It is interesting to note how Jingga 13 immortalised Reformasi 1998, explicit with narrations of Anwar’s purported predicaments and tribulations back at a time when Anwar mesmerized street protesters with his charisma and victim-of-circumstance persona. In essence, Anwar got Jingga 13 to put its foot in Lensa’s mouth while making such a song and dance about Anwar’s political persecution.

That’s right. Malaysia is a dreaded place to live in. First, there’s a government bent on sucking the juices from Anwar’s corpse. Then, there’s Selangor’s Ruler who prefers both Anwar and his significant other to fly kites from his attic. And now, there’s PAS, a political backscratcher bent on driving nails in his coffin for political mileage. Just how much shit can Anwar take in a lifetime yeah? And just when you’d think he’s had enough, along comes Lensa to wipe its arse on his face.

So what do you do? That’s right; you go to the streets on October the 21st, just as Anwar, Lensa and Jingga 13 want you to. You get there and you make merry with Anwar’s theatrical bunkum, while Kit Siang, Azmin, Azizah and the rest of the bloody bunch greet you with reformasi and a whole lot of crap Anwar’s sure to throw at your faces. And then, you get home a braggart, throwing light on your ‘miraculous march towards the sweet land of vindication’ to your loved ones.

The end.