If not Anwar, who?

Dennis Ignatius

[1] One of the questions commonly thrown at those who are critical of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim – dubbed Anwar haters by one columnist – is that if not Anwar, then who? In not so many words, they argue that we should all just shut up because all the other alternatives out there are worse.

[2] Anwar’s critics – and I am one of them – don’t “hate” him; we are just terribly disappointed with his leadership and his failure to live up to his promises.

[3] Like millions of other Malaysians, I voted for him on the basis of his decades-long promises of reform. Having finally won power, however, he appears to have turned his back on reformasi, even invoking – and rather absurdly at that – the chaos that attended the French Revolution (1789) to justify delaying reforms.

[4] At first, Anwar apologists pleaded that he needed more time to consolidate his position before tackling reforms. Later, we were told to keep in mind that the current government is a coalition government and not a Pakatan Harapan administration – as if that in itself excused Anwar from living up to his promises. Now we are being told not to question Anwar’s performance because the alternatives would be worse.

[5] It should be obvious by now that all the talk of ‘reformasi’ when he was in the political wilderness was without conviction; just a manipulative strategy crafted to appeal to Malaysians fed up with years of corruption, racism, and abuse of power by UMNO. We are now being let down by Anwar the same way Mahathir let us down.

[6] There’s really no need for Anwar apologists to remind voters of the alternatives if Anwar goes. People are not stupid; they know that our nation is beset by a great famine of good leaders, men and women of courage, vision, and political integrity. As it is, we are already scraping the bottom of the barrel.

[7] In the meantime, while Anwar apologists warn about the alternatives, Anwar himself is beginning to look just like those alternatives. Note, for example, how he has become more of an Islamist than even PAS president Hadi Awang. Since coming to power, he has expanded Islamic education in public schools, brought in a steady stream of international Islamic leaders to legitimize his Islamic credentials, expanded the role of Jakim and the Islamic bureaucracy, and is now pushing ahead with RUU355 – Hadi’s pet project. Under Anwar’s leadership, we appear to be moving further and further away from our secular democratic moorings.

[8] The DAP goes around instilling fear of the PAS-inspired ‘green wave’ among non-Malays; we should be just as concerned about the Anwar-inspired ‘green wave’.

[9] Anwar apologists, of course, defend his Islamic agenda on the grounds that he has to win back Malay-Muslim support. It means we’ll end up with an Islamic state whether it’s Anwar or Hadi.

[10] In other areas too – race relations, economic reform, reviving our moribund education system, abolishing anti-democratic legislation, political appointments, etc. – there is less and less that sets him apart. As well, he seems just as indifferent to the concerns of ethnic minorities as his predecessors.

[11] Many are also puzzled as to why Anwar continues to pander to UMNO despite his strong parliamentary position – essentially allowing a party that was resoundingly rejected by voters as corrupt, incompetent, and racist to call the shots on so many issues of national concern.

[12] Zahid Hamidi’s proposal to force landowners to hand over as much as 20% of their land (agricultural and industrial) upon extension of their leases – something straight out of the Ketuanan Melayu playbook – is yet another strike against long-suffering minorities. And yet the man who once talked about ‘Ketuanan Rakyat’ and about building a more just society remains silent.

[13] Even his signature anti-corruption campaign has turned into a farce. While the MACC relentlessly pursues Anwar’s political enemies, his friends and allies get DNAAs. Some of the worst cases of corruption and abuse of power by UMNO leaders – the LCS scandal for one – are also conveniently ignored. Voters are not fools; they see through the whole charade.

[14] Clearly, the ground is shifting; people are losing faith in his leadership. The alternatives that Anwar apologists are so concerned about are now gaining ground. Instead of focusing on Anwar’s critics, Anwar apologists might want to get their man to up his performance, keep his promises, and be the leader he said he would be.