DSAI again ??

Saudara,

When I read Nik Azam’s latest posting my thoughts was one of wonder – wonder because my rantings on Anwar was meant to be for us 64ers . And was meant to somehow to tell Anwar that we, as his batchmates, do care about what he does. About his well-being. About where he intends to take this country of ours to. It is just not idle chatter to give vent to what is in my being. My rantings was not to be for the MCOBA network to share.. But it would seem that I have no say in that. So be it.

I was one of the first amongst our batchmates that went to his house just days after his release from prison and stood for hours waiting to see him to convey my happiness at seeing him back with us. I was rewarded with a warm smile and a hug from him. Since then I have followed with much interest his foray into mainstream politics and his eventual deserved rise to head the opposition in Parliament. 

Among others, I have spoken to Hanif (as in IGP and TUN) about the circumstances of Anwar’s fall from grace (if you could consider falling out of favor with Mahathir as a “fall from grace”). From what we know of Hanif, he does not speak untruth. If he, as the then IGP is convinced of Anwar’s guilt and had the evidence to back his beliefs, then that is good enough for me. Not only from what I heard from Hanif, but also from what I know of Anwar and his life, Anwar knows that evidence are available to discredit him but he is hoping that people living in glass houses will not throw stones. So while this status quo remains, he and Najib, and the others are satisfied just throwing pebbles to each other – because once they start throwing rocks, they will only kill each other. To his credit, Mahathir made the decision to NOT use all the evidence that he had on Anwar as he felt that there were boundaries he himself should not cross – and common decency dictates that he should not do so. 

I am no saint myself, but I do not aspire to be the Prime Minister – nor do I aspire to any elected position within any organization. I live within myself in a place far far away from the maddening crowd. Anwar chooses to be in the thick of it all. For those that choose to do as he does, then be prepared for what will be thrown your way. Anwar knows that Pak Lah is a decent man and will be a gentleman in his efforts to contain him but Najib is something else. We shall see quite soon what Najib will do when his back against the wall but here again he might not relish what will be thrown back his way – status quo again !!

As for UMNO…..the UMNO that is now in its death roll….words fail me. Suffice for me to say that an UNMO divided within itself can do no good for the Malays. An UMNO that divides the Malays will have no hope in hell to climb back to the pedestal we once gave them. 

The cut and thrust of politics is to be expected. I only say what I know, what I see and what I feel should be said. Once again I reiterate. By default Anwar is the best that we have now to lead. How long he stays there will depend on his ability to read the situation that prevails even as we breath – it changes, it reacts, it demands and it continually seek a direction to arrive at – but driven by a fickle public that forgets too quickly any sacrifices, if any, that Anwar and his Family might have made for the greater good of the country and its Rakyat. Possibly there are many amongst us that are privy to the goings on in KL within the Government, within UMNO and what our so-called Malay leaders are up to. What I have seen for myself of theses activities does give me some insight and understanding of how things are done. In all this I know that only Mahathir and Abang Lah are left untainted by scandals that would involve their personal self – not the people around them (family and sahabats) but their personal self and these two are not tempted by material greed (kebendaan) and weaknesses of the flesh. These two defining characteristics, in my opinion, are fundamentals necessary for any good leader to have and would be the most difficult to acquire. As in all good things, it is only when they are no longer with us that we become acutely aware of our need for them. But we do not have the luxury of time nor hindsight. We live for the moment so if we need to accept leaders that are less then exemplary in their characters - so be it – but with the hope that they will change for the better when thrust into the Prime Ministership of our Country. If they do not – then we can only regret our choice at our leisure while they plunder our country to their hearts content. Amen.