Anwar should pay heed to Nurul Nuha
Even as he endures the cruelty of the oppressive regime, Anwar should not listen to the forked tongues of his “trusted colleagues.”
Kua Kia Soong, Free Malaysia Today
Politicians tend to speak and act out of the bubble they have built around themselves as they pounce on political opportunities that present themselves. It can take their loved ones to see through all that falsehood and hypocrisy. Thus, Anwar’s daughter Nurul Nuha Anwar must be congratulated for demanding that Dr Mahathir Mohamad publicly apologises to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and admit his past transgressions against the opposition leader before he can hope to forge any alliance with Anwar’s coalition. Nurul Nuha said that Dr Mahathir must first own up to the “trumped-up” sodomy and corruption charges against Anwar back in 1998. Bravo.
This is the first thought that comes to the mind of anyone who cares about justice and dignity in this country. And yet, how many politicians in Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Civil Society leaders, with the exception of Saari Sungib, have demanded that of Mahathir ever since he headed the “Save Malaysia” Declaration in March 2016?
Sorry is all that you can say, Mahathir
After Mahathir’s attendance in court on September 5 for a case involving Anwar and their token handshake, PH and Parti Pribumi politicians have been falling about themselves hailing this as a historic compromise that spells good times ahead for the Anti-Najib Coalition.
The fact remains that to date, Mahathir has strenuously refused to apologise to Anwar or retract his scurrilous defamation of Anwar’s character since 1998. In September 2005 at a press conference after a human rights conference, the former Prime Minister was quoted as saying: “I cannot have a sodomiser in my Cabinet. Imagine a gay PM – nobody will be safe.”
On 24 September 2005, Anwar demanded an apology and damages totaling $26.7 million from the former Prime Minister for those scurrilous comments. Mahathir had reiterated his assertion that he’d fired Anwar as his deputy in 1998 because Anwar’s alleged sexual orientation made him unfit for office.
Then, despite the generous gestures shown toward Mahathir by his former detractors, including Anwar after the ‘Save Malaysia’ caper in March 2016, Mahathir has not displayed any remorse for his past record and instead, repeated his defamatory attacks on Anwar’s character when he appeared on Australian TV soon after the ‘Save Malaysia’ Declaration.
Anwar’s letter from prison in June 2016 showed that he was hurt when this “humiliation, sadly did not elicit any response from my trusted colleagues…It’s baffling to note that after working with Pakatan Harapan civil society and my trusted colleagues, he continued to pour scorn and venom against me!”
Thus, if these Pakatan leaders could be forgiven for their “audacious naivete” in working with Mahathir, there was no excuse for their continued alliance with the latter AFTER he repeated his prejudiced comments against Anwar. As to who is calling the shots in the Anti-Najib Coalition, this terse admonition by the Pakatan de facto leader in his letter from prison said it all:
“But I resent the insensitivity in pressuring the president and in particular Nurul Izzah to pay respects to Tun M or attend his functions. You may want to appease him, but to demand such a sacrifice from my family, particularly after the recent scorn is the unkindest cut of all!”
