cakap cakap : anwar, kit siang and mahathir

I am trying to come to terms with the reality that we as Malaysians and this country of ours as a nation....that we are all counting on two Malays and a Chinese - Mahathir is 91, Anwar Ibrahim is 70 and Lim Kit Siang is 75 ....to do the right thing by all of us so that a corrupt and arrogant Umno led BN government will finally end their swindling days in Putrajaya come the next general election.

I am not saying that there are not many others who are committed to achieve the same ends but it is these three that are leading the way. It is these three that are now trying to put into being a united opposition against Umno and it is through these three that we will succeed or fail against Umno in the next general election.

I will be 70 this year. I have Hernia, Gout and possible Renal problems on the horizon.  I cannot bend down to pick anything on the ground without the act being accompanied by groans and a mind that keeps reminding me that bending down and many other physical efforts, are no longer things I should do or can do. 

Anwar Ibrahim is in Sungai Buloh. How, at 71 he copes with life inside Sungai Buloh will surely be only a matter of conjecture for all of us....he has to live it. But we know he will prevail. 

Lim Kit Siang is some one I do not think too much of. Why? He is dependable. He is pragmatic. In all things politics, he has never let me down. True he is a Chinese and as a Malay my natural instincts is to be wary of Chinese bearing gifts but the best way I can describe LKY is simply this "ini orang kita". He did not let down Anwar when he brought DAP into the coalition and he will not let Mahathir and Anwar down now when the three of them are in a coalition against Umno. His motives, his "nawaitu" is the least of my worries...he is a good man to have by your side in good times and bad times.

Mahathir is a given. He is focussed to a fault. His matalamt is to get najib razak and all that najib represents, out of politics in Malaysia. If that requires him to work with Anwar Ibrahim. He will. If that requires him to sit at the same table as Lim Kit Siand he will do so. And if that means he has to make his peace with Azizah who holds him personally responsible for the fate she and her family are now in, he will make his peace with her....and he has! Today you see the vintage Mahathir at his most effective. And I am sure once victory at the elections is achieved, Mahathir will undur and take his long deserved retirement gladly. 

It bothers me that a young nation like ours has to depend so much on the old to right the wrong already embedded in so many of our people - especially the Malays - but if we have to depend on the old, I would rather it be Mahathir, Anwar and Lim Kit Siang then any one else.       

Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang and Mahathir ....these are all good leaders. Now is the time for these good leaders to become great leaders.

In the recent past we have seen images of aruah TGNA walking through the  Masjid Besi Putrajaya, and in that walk through the mosque, aruah Tok Guru transcend his physical self to another level. His physical presence drove the crowd into a frenzy of respect and reverence for a man of politics who in their eyes was more a holy man than a politician.  

 

We also saw images of the late Karpal Singh fearlessly facing off a bunch of Umno hoodlums in front of Parliament. Even though outnumbered and surrounded by these Umno youth hoodlums, Karpal, in a wheelchair, stood his ground and did not hide his contempt at such a cowardly attempt by the Umno hoodlums to threaten his physical self. Not for moment did the late Karpal gave those Umno hoodlums the satisfaction of caving in to thier threats.

What has Anwar Ibrahim not endured? There is no need to dwell upon the ability of that man to stand up against anything that the powers that be in Malaysia can and did throw at him. He and Kit Siang have seen and endured it all. Now only Anwar and Kit Siang are left among us.

And then from the other side there is Mahathir. 

His commitment to do good for Malaysia and the work ethics he instilled in others and in himself, is, to say the least, extraordinary. That he was able to do so for a period of twenty two years without succumbing to the temptations that often affect other lesser mortals is remarkable. You judge a leader by the manner he conducts himself when no one is watching. From the people that I know, who knows Mahathir, I can report that while he was prime minister, he worked for Malaysia 24/7. 

Though long retired, he is still doing it now.

Anwar, Kit Siang and Mahathir ...these are all good leaders. Now is the time for them to become great leaders!

Do not burden yourself with if's or but's. Question not the sincerity or the veracity of their commitment to the core group. Remember the "core group" is a temporary alliance and the operative word there is "temporary", and in the fullness of time, that core group will be no more. 

You should by now know that Mahathir will never abandon Umno. He only wants to make Umno stronger and more relevant to the times we now live in. He wants Umno to win in the next general election and if that means sitting at the same table as the opposition, Mahthir will do so. Is he not member 000000001 of Umno Baru?

Without Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang's political future will remain just that - a future....a possibility. Anwar Ibrahim can make it into a reality - one where every one is a Malaysian. Together they are our future, so have no fear that they will not be there for each other.

These three, Anwar, Kit Siang and Mahathir, have now become strange bedfellows. Willing companions on a journey of discovery to see what can be possible when old foes unite in that classic union that even Dirty Harry would not shy away from making his own if the situation demands it : The enemy of my enemy is my friend. 

So please friends...take it for what it is : ABN - Anything But Najib!  All the other "reforms" stuff are just preambles to suck everyone in. The success or failure of this "core group" will change politics in Malaysia because, in that catch phrase of Air Asia,..."Now everyone can"....work together! 

Think of what it can do to civility and respect among politicians in government and the opposition. Think of how that civility and respect can translate into a future where we will once again have in parliament, men of goodwill to debate with each other. 

All this will be possible ...but first we will need to get Najib out of the way.