What was Anwar’s biggest contribution to what we are today? I sat and ponder over this question the whole day today. I wanted to write about it and yet I cannot because there were so many thoughts that came and went inside me. All I could do today was about two half page – notes on times go by – Cakap cakap about AP and then I revisited the “Bentong car park” issue because one of our friends sent me something new about that car park. It is now 11.42pm and I have been thinking since 7.15am this morning….fifteen minutes ago it hit me! I believe that what Anwar did to me and to many of us can be conceptualised in two words:
“POLITICAL AWAKENING”
Before Anwar was dismissed by Mahatir I was a Bumiputra intent on pursuing my “rights” as a Bumiputra. The right to have a share in the perceived richness brought into the consciousness of the Malays as a result of the New Economic Policies. All that was in my mind was where the next ringgit was going to be found. Tenders, project proposals, pink slips, AP’s, IPO, licenses, Privatisation opportunities…life was a whirl of meetings and discussions in five star hotels and lunches in restaurants whose name you find hard to pronounce – Troika was one of those that I can still remember – in Jalan Raja Chulan. The evenings were again another whirl of coffee houses and meetings until the early mornings.
Then 2nd September 1998 he was dismissed as DPM. The next day he was expelled from UMNO. September 20th he was arrested and September 29th he was brought to court to be charged. Five cases for sodomy and five for corruption. My first conscious understanding that this was really happening was seeing him with a black eye. Common sense tells me that no policeman would dare lay a hand on someone who was the DPM just a few months ago….surely Anwar must have injured himself….but looking at him I could see that he was accepting of the fact that he was no longer DPM and I felt that he was coming to terms within himself as to where he would have to go from there. There was a grim acceptance in his face that the battle for his life and his future had begun.
As the days unfold and I relive Anwar’s arrest in his house with Balaclava clad personals, his black eye, how he was being treated during the trial and how UMNO and Mahathir was trying to demonised him…my dislike for Mahathir became a dislike for UMNO. Slowly this crystallized into my questioning what was happening within UMNO. It was not enough that Mahathir have dismissed him as DPM – that he relentlessly pursued Anwar in such a manner made me, and I am sure most of us, start to question the sanity of that man who was then our Prime Minister.
So my friends if you ask me what was Anwar’s biggest contribution to our consciousness until now – it will be our political awakening of what is right and what is wrong with our government, with our Prime Minister and with UMNO.….and after much thought we know that Mahathir and UMNO is wrong for our nation! So do not question Anwar’s on his commitment to our cause – we are with him in HIS cause to bring decency and dignity back to how things are done in Malaysia. He showed us the way, he stands in front – but we are together now and we will persevere.
Dear Hussein Hamid,
Thanks a million for speaking-up on our behalf. Sure we don’t like how they framed Anwar, how they treated him. We don’t like the way Kugan and TBH died. This is not our Malaysian culture. We need Anwar to lead us. We are with him, anytime, anywhere, anyhow.
kugan case, why only one indian cop be charged? where are the rest ? or was it only one cop in duty that time ?
who gave instruction to this only cop ?
will this cop face being cover up too ?
If the choice is to support the mangy lot of curs holding on to power so that they can continue to sodomise the rakyat, the same way the Mamak Kutty did for the past 22 years, I would readily choose Anwar Ibrahim.
Mamak Kutty sodomised the rakyat and all the institutions of good governance for his selfish and megalomanic ego. He even privatised essential utilities that has become monopolies of his cronies.
The present government is worse. They still do not understand the needs of the rakyat. They are so greedy of wealth and power that they are behaving like demi-gods who are invincible. They still believe the rakyat are fools who could be bribed to vote for tainted UMNO warlords.
They will only wake up from their slumber and denial mode when they lose whatever they have after the 13th G.E.
Let us all work towards that glorious day!
“..my dislike for Mahathir became…”
Dislike is a mild word. I hate Mahathir like hell till today for what he did to Anwar. He is a devil and I want him to drop dead and go to hell. That man is real EVIL! He has no heart.
When Anwar was at the height of his powers as DPM and Finance Minister, we met in New York and I was fortunate enough to be invited to his suite (either at the Plaza or at the Wardorf Astoria, can’t remember which).
First thing I saw on his desk was a hardcover version of Tolstoy’s War and Peace. We talked about doing business with various “camps” within UMNO – the Mahathir “camp”, the supposedly Anwar “camp”, the Rafidah “camp”, etc. He acknowledged that doing business in Malaysia was unique, but he cautioned us against competing with the Mahathir “camp” because of the no-win situation if you are competing with Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary or with YTL or with Berjaya. Anwar felt the pie was big enough for everyone to have their share.
Anwar also felt that the Mahathir style of doing business – award to cronies or relatives, proceed with obscene haste, let nothing get in the way, fire those who are obstacles – would not be sustainable in the long run. Anwar’s supporters main grouse was that Anwar refused to help them in the same manner that Mahathir helped the latter’s cronies.
His links with people like Robert Rubin made him more aware of the need for transparency and accountability, but he was also crucified in the mainstream press and pro-Mahathir blogs for being in cahoots with the Jewish camp.
I was not a supporter of Anwar during his university days or his ABIM days, but my meetings with the man during his heydays and afterwards made me realise that the man has learned a lot, and has become a citizen of the world. He’s much much better than the vengeful and remorseless “katak bawah tempurung” Mamakthir.
It was a rude awakening that transformed into a political movement. From that day Anwar was arrested and subsequently charged, convicted and jailed for all sorts of crime, Malaysians waited for the day Mahathir retired because they cannot do anything, so when Mahathir did, Malaysians celebrated by giving Abdullah 91% percent mandate in the following GE. When he took over Abdullah freed Anwar, Mahathir then condemned Abdullah and force him to resign, the rest is history.
I know many of my Malay friends hated UMNO and Mahathir for what has done on Anwar.
The originality of UMNO has deteriorated to such a state and it was very sad in deed as this bring direct impact to Malaysia as we all know the PM must be from UMNO, until now we only see an alternative and a viable one.
All must work and focus on this new awakening to make sure that the old landscape will be changed in the next GE.
“When Anwar was at the height of his powers as DPM and Finance Minister, we met in New York and I was fortunate enough to be invited to his suite (either at the Plaza or at the Wardorf Astoria, can’t remember which).” Godfather
It is Waldorf Astoria on 50th Street – where Eddie Murphy playing an African prince sowed his wild oats.
Mahathir still owes Anwar an apology .. “Cannot Forgive, and Cannot Forget” ..
What anwar had gone through is because he ill treated Sabah with the power grab in 1994 as Sabah is loaded with a history of bad fellows who later met terrible fate.
Anwar has yet to apologise to Sabah and Sabahans what he did in a 4 star hotel just before GE 1994… I had this poster in Likas By election 2001 asking Anwar this question…
pw: 1.50 ruescher
What did he do, wise guy??
You know, I WAS thinking of this question also recently: what had Anwar contributed to the people? I can’t think of anything!
My conclusion was “nothing”.
But you said “Political Awakening”!
That make me feel like you are trying to justify him as someone has delivered something… well, let’s see what he has delivered…
Nothing!
916 is a failure. Katak mostly from PKR. Still some potential Katak in PKR and can’t be fired!
OK, not that I don’t like him. I think Anwar must do MORE to show that he is a capable leader.
If 916 is the objective, then keep it as “is”, not “was”. Keep fighting for it. Keep fighting until it is delivered. The scoreboard only increase when something is delivered. We can’t just pluck from the sky to find something to feel proud of. This is BN, not Pakatan Rakyat!
Yes, another thing he must do is to get Pakatan Rakyat formed. Is he waiting for Zaid? Well, if Zaid make it happen, then it is Zaid, not Anwar.
And when is he going to show that he is a real boss to fire the kataks?
Do something that DELIVER! Don’t just talk!
OK, we are now “awake”. More are awake now. Enough awakening!
It is time to put those that awake into real use! Pass/delegate this awakening job to someone to carry on (I think the ripple already there, just let it be…) and he needs to move on to the next important tasks: become a real leader!
I do wish and pray for him to succeed. Honestly so far, I see Zaid has more potential than Anwar.
Please, LKS and LGE must help our brothers to make Malaysia a better place. We the awakening rakyat do our part to vote you in power and you MUST show us you all can be united and DELIVER!
That’s my two-cents.
I can understand why so many men and women hate Tun M.
In the beginning, like so many, many others, I was taken in by all his sweet talk and wit; his willingness to stand up and be different; his ability to shoot from his tongues with as many forks as needed against foes and sundry. By and by, like so many thousands, we become disillusioned by a man who seems to support so many seemingly corrupt enterprises; we were all shocked and sickened by his unfettered and unhesitant use of disproportionate force against his friends and enemies, his shamelessness in cloaking his misdeeds with all forms of guile – no, he never spared the religious, the innocent, the fathers, brothers, friends.
So we all got to know and despise his ways. Unlike many of you, I don’t hate Mahathir the man. But I hate his abuse of power, his sins against humanity and the nation. I have long concluded that this man is possessed by an evil force much too large for him. That he is Machiavellian, many share not the slightest doubt; that he is heartless, we all pray for him; but that he is still ambitious and wishes his dynasty and influence to live on through najib and Mukhriz, his son, we must part with him and give him not the space or comfort to condemn malaysians forever!
Hussein, I share your sentiments deeply. More malays must share in this awakening, otherwise malaysia is doomed. A lovely nation. A people who is nature’s gentlemen castrated. A generation destroyed.
What many leaders – illegal and whatnots – over step their boundaries in humanities and the scourge comes back to haunt them and their nations rotting in rotten system hence beyond repairs.
Malaysia is at such state of decay and only good and conscientious leaders can bring redemption to the nation and other nations as well.
Do we have such leaders in Malaysia?
Such new leaders would not survive in rotten system.
Change with IGGG.
pw: survivor Miriam
Always remember that UMNO has their own set of law which over-rides the law of the country. Any crime committed by an UMNO loyalist is no crime. I think it is not worth even mentioning all the cases whether it is criminal, civil, criminal or seditious. But if they see you as an opponent or even writing the truth about them, no crime becomes a crime. You can be put in prison under ISA on the pretext of protecting you.
The problem is throughout the 50 over years under them they had plundered the country and the warlords now had so much money that they are able to buy millions of greedy people to support them.
///So we all got to know and despise his ways. Unlike many of you, I don’t hate Mahathir the man. But I hate his abuse of power, his sins against humanity and the nation. ///– Endangered Hornbill
One might not hate him when one measures what Mahathir had affected one’s own living. But one cannot help hating him thinking about what he had done to make this country, with all the potential to be a showcase of harmonious living for people of all bloodline and religion, turning into one tolerable only for the Muslims; tolerable in the sense that they have more rights but have to live in a low income country because Mahathir’s action at divide and rule, have made those who could make a difference to the economic development of this country leave Malaysian shores.
I hate Mahathir for turning this potential paradise on earth to hell in the making.
Keris-lembu-Muddin has left unsaid that the people in the country can be divided into good race and bad race, and good religion and bad religion. It is based on these fundamental classifications that the BN government operates. That is why BN government is seen to practise double standards.
BN = Nazi, Fascist, Imperial Japan
Soon they will dictate everything, right race and wrong race. This is just a preview of what is coming up next, they will create a supreme race, or master race policy following the footstep of Adolf Hitler, and Musolini. What is acceptable speech and what is unacceptable speech. What can be discuss and what shouldn’t be discussed.
Perak state is a good example how coup-detat commonly used by dictator is deployed.
To PR leaders, careful the coup-detat can happen in Perak it can happen to any state as well. As i have mentioned the crime rates will increase, these is also part and parcel of coup d’etat, remember WWII how Nazi rise to power. BN will do anything now to crush the opposition including murdering political aide, victimisation of political figure and many more. Watch how Adolf Hitler play racial card to educate the German to hate the Jews, in Malaysia, will these bunch of BN goons play racial card to educate the Malay to hate the chinese, and indian. Once done, they can secure all Malay votes and in power forever, exploiting every single resources we have from highway tolls, petrol field, and various form of taxes.
A very obvious case is every imported car is charging MYR 20K on average higher than Australia.
TDM said “we cannot export rain”. He should have said “we export all our good brains to Singapore and other countries”.
By the way, anybody knows the latest about the “Bentong car park” issue? Heard that it was to be demolished because not even a car can be parked inside – the ceiling is too low. Another case of public fund wasting!
Anwar was part of the system which he helped create. If Mahatir had stepped down and Anwar had become Prime Minister, he (Anwar) would be singing a different tune, playing the Islamic card.
I support Anwar, but only because he is the lesser evil, the only one able to break down the despised monolith.