Let us address the elephant in OUR room. Anwar Ibrahim.

Let us address the elephant in OUR room. Anwar Ibrahim. He was once convicted of Sodomy and then had that conviction dismissed. Then again Sodomy Two was visited upon him, convicted of that charged, appeal and had it dismissed and then upon appeal by the prosecution, had that conviction upheld. The right and wrong of what the prosecution and the court has decided is now academic. It is, in as far as the Malaysian justice system is concerned (however flawed!), a done deal. Time will out the political vindictiveness of Mahathir and then Najib in the prosecution of Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy but many Malaysians have to decide for themselves the right and wrong of Anwar Ibrahim in the first and second sodomy cases ...notwithstanding what the court has decided. 

Let us discuss that.

How do you decide the relevance of Anwar Ibrahim from now onwards given what he has done from the time he joined Umno, his trials and tribulations within and outside Umno, his rise to become leader of the opposition culminating in his "victory' when he secured 51% of the votes cast in the last general election?

Against all this you have to weigh the excesses of his time in Umno and in the government as Mahathir's deputy....and of course his two trial for sodomy which ended in a conviction and five years incarceration for Sodomy two. 

His excesses in Umno is behind him and by what he has done and achieved since then he has not only redeemed himself but he has, with the late Tok Guru, the late and great Karpal and Kit Siang given us that most precious of gifts : the setting up of a viable opposition front as an alternative to the Umno led corrupt and arrogant Barisan Nasional government. This achievement alone dwarfs any other political achievements bar Merdeka. That the Pakatan Rakyat opposition front is now in tatters is hardly of much concern because Anwar Ibrahim has given us a real glimpse of what is possible. And what is possible is the removal of Umno and all that it has stood for - money politics, arrogance and a total lack or morality and ethics in government. And it its place we the rakyat can aspire to have good governance with morality and ethics as its corner stone. This is what Anwar Ibrahim has done for us.

So how now do you view Anwar Ibrahim's conviction for Sodomy Two? As I have said before, let time and the future generation decipher and dissect the right and wrong of the judicial process and decision making in this case because it is, for now, a done deal. How do you know view Anwar Ibrahim who has been convicted of Sodomy?

Let me tell you what I think.

One simple equation to start with. If Sodomy Two did happened then it was a sexual act between two adults - consenting or otherwise. Dua hamba ALLAH banging each other not in public but in a private room with or without the other consent. In many parts of the world, Australia included, what you do in private is your damm bloody business. 

Now let us count the ways in which what Najib Razak has done has impacted adversely not on one, two or a thousand Malaysians...but on many thousands. And not only on Malaysians but also on Malaysia and now increasingly, it has caused Malaysia to be looked upon globally as a pariah. Because any prime minister, in any country, under any circumstance, for any reason who deposits a "donation" of RM2.6 billion into his personal account will deservedly be labelled a pariah globally. And that has happened to Malaysia. We are looked upon as a pariah nation because we have a pariah as a prime minister.

Now apart form this "donation" scam, there is 1MDB, there is Altantuya and there is the unexplained wealth of Najib Razak and his immediate family that needs to be addressed because all that unexplained wealth was looted during his time in public office - especially his time as Minister of Defense and as Prime Minister.

Anwar and Saiful...Najib and many many millions of Rakyat who have been adversely affected by what Najib has done in the name of government. Really brothers and sisters.....no contest. Betul tak? No bloody contest.

I have been, at times, critical of Anwar Ibrahim because by the things he sometimes does, he has given cause for others to take him down a peg or two....and in a perfect world we want our leaders to be above board in every thing that they do - personal and public. 

But we do not live in a perfect world - and in Malaysia all things Malaysian are skewed to favor this obnoxious Najib and Rosmah couple and the BN government that has lost its popular mandate to govern in the last general election. So I say damm this Umno led BN government. 

They are, at most, three or four million in numbers...we are many many millions more. They have at their disposal the Armed Forces, PDRM and other government agencies and machinery to do their bidding but the continued loyalty of those working within these organization are begging to waver if not they are already in sympathy with the opposition. Do not take my word for it for you can know from what is happening around you that all these "leaks" and availability of information on all that is wrong within government comes from within the government, from within Umno and within BN. Dissent to all things BN is no longer covert - it is now a badge of courage much sought after by not only leaders of the opposition and members of their political affiliates but also by you and me. We are all now empowered to bring about change.....but we need Anwar Ibrahim to lead the charge. 

I ask that you think of Anwar Ibrahim for what he has become - that beacon of hope for so many of us...hope of change, hope of good governance and hope that the people can decide their own destiny through the ballot box. 

Free Anwar. Let Anwar go home!