Is Mahathir An Honest Person? An Open Letter To Anwar Ibrahim
(Malaysian Digest) – Yesterday, jailed opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had appealed to his supporters to give former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad a chance to reignite his ‘reformasi’ movement.
“I personally welcome Tun (Dr Mahathir) to pursue the struggle with us. The personal tribulations and hurt that have been felt (before) are small compared to the interests of the people and the future of the country,” Anwar said in a statement posted on his Facebook page.
His statement comes in light of news of various opposition factions, in particular supporters of Anwar being unable to accept Mahathir as their leader.
But is Anwar’s word enough to silence the growing dissent among the ranks?
One question that Mahathir has avoided since joining the opposition coalition is his treatment of Anwar in the past.
“I’m not angry over the past, he is not angry over the past also,” Mahathir answered evasively when asked by a Thai journalist during an interview with Nation Multimedia Group earlier this month.
For Anwar’s supporters, clearly that answer was not enough.
Today, an open letter addressed to Anwar questions his support for Mahathir in the public statement issued yesterday.
“I have the right to get assurance that Tun Dr Mahathir is an honest person, and not a liar who has only his self-interest at heart to achieve what he wants for his family,” the letter warns.
The letter calls attention to what Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak pointed out earlier this month about Mahathir conveniently leaving many important questions unanswered.
“(Mahathir) accused Anwar of committing acts against the order of nature (sodomy), and said Anwar had no morals and was not fit to lead the country,” Najid reminded about the events that led up to the ‘Reformasi’ movement in 1998.
“So the question in people’s minds now is whether the accusation was wrong from the beginning, or he is willing to sacrifice this principle for political ends, or there is some other trickery. All these he did not answer,” Najib pointed out the hypocritical nature of Mahathir’s support for Anwar earlier this month at Umno’s open house at the Putra World Trade Centre.
The open letter to Anwar today which was posted to political blogger Lim Sian See’s Facebook page repeated Najib’s call, pressing for an answer.
“I hope Datuk Seri can answer whether the accusations made by Mahathir that you are an immoral person who commits acts of adultery, sodomy and engage in unnatural sexual relations with men are true or false.
“If Tun Mahathir as the chairman of Pakatan Harapan, has spread lies about your goodself and refused to apologise or seek your forgiveness, I think the public might have a difficult time in extending their support for a political alliance that is lead by a liar.
“I ask Datuk Seri to offer some guarantee, to give this matter some serious consideration and provide a good reason to dispel all these doubts,” the letter concludes.
Anwar can continue insisting that the common stance taken by Pakatan Harapan is a democratic decision, praising Mahathir for acting bravely to fulfill the people’s wishes but that is not enough.
As long as Mahathir does not provide a convincing answer about his role in demonising Anwar, Malaysians will doubt his sincerity.
