Why Keadilan : Is Anwar An Asset or Liability ?
I am not sure if Sdr Anwar Ibrahim is a party member. Some say yes, some say no. Miss Jasmine of Batu Service Center claimed that his membership number is 1. He’s barred from holding any political office, so instead he was crowned as the party advisor.. What I wish to ask is, whether he’s an asset or liability for the party.
Again, the views are split. Supporters claim that he is a charismatic leader with overflowing intelligence and fantastic leadership skills. People now blame Datuk Seri Abdullah’s fruitless war against graft on his lack of leadership. Khairy might look like a maverick but is far from being well-accepted especially by the heartlanders. Just to prove my point, do you think there would be a reformasi of the same size, had Datuk Seri Najib, the Umno politician said to maintain the biggest networking, been dismissed the way Anwar was ?
Apart from that, supporters also refute Umno’s accusation that we are inexperienced in administrative matters by claiming that we have, as party advisor was part of the government. And it is exactly this “experience” that backfire on us.
Self-rightous rights defenders lament Anwar for doing nothing to stop haunting dissidents with ISA. Vernacular education supporters accuse Anwar of being harsh on Chinese schools. Bigots claim that he has dissappointed “true” Muslims. Racial and religious facists criticise Anwar for having nearly accepted proposals of IMF and World Bank, which they fantasized to be closely linked to the Zionist regime. Even personal friendship with Paul Wolfowitz is conveniently misperceived as support for war against Saddam.
In some cases, the accusations do hold water. Alright, they said that Anwar did not oppose to ISA. Or Anwar’s policies discriminated vernacular schools. So now, Anwar is no longer part of the government. Has ISA ceased to exist, or the lot of vernacular schools improve ? With or without Anwar, Umno, the real culprit, goes on and on with their irrational rule. So, who will benefit most from throwing such accusations at Anwar and Keadilan, if not Umno, the culprit of all the policies you are up against ?
Anwar has called for abolishing New Economic Policy (NEP) because it is merely a tool for Umnoputras to enrich themselves, and replace it with a mean-based affirmative action that benefits all the needy regardless of their ethnicity or background. He has also made it clear that Islamic state and Hudud are not part of Keadilan’s agenda. We can’t agree more, because it’s useless to label the country as Islamic or whatever, when corruption is rampant, detential without trial is the order of the day, and freedoms of speech, religion as well as information are all curbed. It is more important to provide good governance which ensures justice for all than labelling it, no ?
Anwar might not be perfect. Like every other human being, he has his fair share of weaknesses. However, without Keadilan initiating opposition unity, we will be reduced to square one where Pas and DAP are constantly too comfortable to reach out to more Malaysians, hence allowing Umno to stay in throne forever. Anwar is for now the most suitable candidate to play the role of uniting all oppositions. For those within the opposition camp who spread the rumour and wish to see Anwar joining Umno and Keadilan disbanding itself, why don’t you try to look at the bigger picture ?
Anwar is just more of the same old bullshit. In the first place, what calibre does he have as a statesman? Not a politician, mind you - a statesman. What achievements of his do we remember today? He introduced the RM1 coin that is now being phased out. He brought moral education into our classrooms, and it’s one of the most useless subjects in our schools today. He bended to the IMF’s demands, when, like it or not, Mahathir’s route was probably the more successful one. The fact that Anwar was appointed as DPM means nothing - it’s just as likely Mahathir chose Anwar for his ability to kiss ass and toe the line.
And aside from that, the issue of credibility also remains. The charges of corruption against Anwar have never been disproven. And like it or not, most Chinese and Indians are repulsed by Anwar just as much as they are repulsed by the government/BN.
Anwar is only talking about rolling back the NEP, etc. because it’s the easiest path to power for him now. Last time he pandered to the UMNOputras and his cronies because they put him on the path to power. Now the UMNOputras are firmly against him, and going back to UMNO is a dead-end, so the only route (albeit arduous) to power goes right through the anti-UMNOputra camp. Is it surprising Anwar is now firmly anti-UMNOputra?
Comment by johnleemk — Sunday, November 20th, 2005 @ 2:20 pm