The shape of things to come

901.

This 9th of January 2012 is the day when the court passes sentence on Anwar Ibrahim. He can either be acquitted or convicted. Anwar seems resigned to the fact that he will be convicted and will spend time in jail. On the other hand he is very upbeat on the outcome of the next elections. Accordingly he has defiantly travelled across the country giving fiery speeches galvanizing public support. Seemingly indifferent at the prospects of going to jail, he is already talking about an interim PM. Others from the opposition parties are behind him on this and reiterate their confidence that Anwar will become PM.

Much will depend on the reaction from the Malay ground; Anwar will have to hope that morality isn’t treated as a big issue among Malays in general.  Among the non-Malays his morals do not factor big in their decision making process. What Anwar does behind locked doors is his business. The non-Malays appear to take a detached view from being moral judges. The old Indian lady whom I once wrote about who prayed for Anwar dismissed the things Anwar is alleged to have done but instead rued at the tyranny visited upon Anwar and his family. The non-Malay lawyer whom I met denounced Anwar but was equally vicious against the injustice committed on Anwar’s family. He vowed never to vote BN.

 So how does the Malay ground feel for Anwar? Anwar and his supporters will say the government is using fitnah to do him in. his detractors will say Anwar is using the tiring term of conspiracy for more than 13 years. How does the average Malay feel?  I think Anwar and his supporters must be prepared to accept the courts verdict. The others must prepare how to win the elections. The opposition can’t be Anwar-centric.

If the average Malay feels numbed by the distasteful exploitation of Anwar’s morals, he may reap the sympathy of the majority. If the average Malay feels Anwar’s morality is a reflection of a deep-seated flaw in character that makes him unsuitable for high office, Anwar is gone. As it is, it’s very difficult to read the Malay crowd. Whenever he speaks, thousands come in attendance. The irony of the whole thing is, as I wrote sometime back, the situation has come to the point where whatever Anwar says is believed and whatever the government says, is dismissed.

I am not going to analyze the reasons for the optimism surrounding Anwar but I have my personal reservations about calling 100,000 people to the court premises. For what purpose? What the court decides, it can’t be challenged extra judicially not withstanding 100,000 people clamoring for a verdict favorable to them. You fight your battles in court and cannot be accusing the courts to be impartial all the time. The whole world is watching. The watchful eye of the international public serves as sufficient deterrent against flippant judgment.

I question the wisdom of organizing large crowds. Trouble could be started by anybody within the crowd and blame will certainly be attributed to the organizers of the rally. I am all for leaders of the opposition parties attending court to show support for a friend in distress. Anwar has many friends and it’s fitting for them to come and give him moral support.  I think that is a proper thing to do. Other than that, the presence of 100 thousand over people will serve to show that Anwar has support and sympathy. But that could come at a high cost.

When a friend got into an accident and is hospitalized we visit him at the hospital to console him and offer him our best wishes. He may have caused the accident himself but when we visit him, we don’t ask whether he is the cause of the accident.  So if opposition luminaries attend court on the 9th, they do so to offer best wishes to a friend.

The other news that is making its round is my admission as member of the DAP. I think this shouldn’t be made into a big thing. Aspan Alias and I are no threat at all to UMNO with its pervasive and ubiquitous machinery. We are two insignificant people. I have been accused as a failed ADUN and wasn’t much of anything else. I am no threat at all.  Ignore us and we will fade into oblivion. With all the negative points, UMNO and BN will have no difficulties at all to pulverize us. If we were to be fielded as candidates in the next election, let us contest in the ring and wish the better of our opponent. There were many calls for me to leave UMNO as I am most of the times criticizing it and now that I have decided to accede to those calls, why should that decision be objected vehemently? A dear friend from MCA text me to offer his felicitations and good wishes and I thought that was heartwarming for him to do so. This contrasted with the outpouring of diatribes from some of my UMNO friends. As I wrote the other day, I am only changing political platform not my faith.