The Ghost of Mahathirism Past is Nigh

Okay, Mahathir is truly an old man. He is a sprightly 94 going 110. But, to fixate on his age would be a major mistake when trying to analyse his second tenure as Prime Minister of Malaysia. So, let us just put his age out there and just leave it as a statement of fact. Let us not even try to be witty and say that he is an old man in a hurry.

What causes disquiet is the earnestness in which his Parti Pribumi Bersatu is courting UMNO MPs. 

In this respect Dr M and his would-be successor, Anwar Ibrahim exhibits a  common vulpine desire to induce MPs from one party to betray their party and hop over. Let us leave Anwar Ibrahim aside for now and focus on Dr M.

Pribumi is an overtly race-based party. It is a party for Malays. It has a superficial marketing tag line that covers other indigenous Malaysians to justify the Pribumi label in its name.

The realpolitik of the Malaysian political landscape in the wake of GE14 is that the Malay voters are divided 40:30:30. 40% UMNO, 30% PAS and 30% Pakatan Harapan coalition.

But, pause for a moment here. Context is important. In the run up to the May 9 General Elections, UMNO was a powerful juggernaut that was using the full might of its resources to reach into the Malay heartland to create strong imagery about how UMNO was the Protector of the Malays. Billions of Ringgit were poured in every possible media and outreach channel to create that sentiment.

And, with all those efforts, UMNO could only reach a paltry 40% of the Malay voters.

As for PAS, its ability to garner 30% of the Malay votes is very highly skewed to the East Coast, particularly its traditional strongholds of Kelantan and Terengganu. No magic charisma there.

So, what is my point? 

My point is that just by working hard, learning on the job quickly and staying corrupt-free, it is very, very certain that Pakatan Harapan's Malay voter base of support can only increase. I dare say, by GE15, 55% to 60% of the Malay voter base will shift to Pakatan Harapan's component parties.

So, my question is, why is Dr M in such a hurry to induce UMNO MPs to jump ship and betray the Malay voters who supported UMNO in GE14?

Ever the crafty vulpine fellow that he is, Dr M has lamented that many structural reforms cannot take place without the Holy Grail of the 2/3 majority in the Malaysian Parliament.

My answer to the 2/3 majority argument is, I am sorry to say, BULLSHIT.

Even as we speak, live and breathe today, since May 9, reforms are taking place. Not very visible, not high drama, but real reforms. 

The reduction of corruption at all levels of government is already one form of reform. 

The opening of tenders, with some necessary weightage given to Bumiputra contractors, is reform.

The Pakatan Harapan government is not perfect. Of course, it isn't. But, it has its collective heart and intent of corruption-free and efficient governance in the correct place. The Malaysian voters and Malay voters are not stupid. They will see and feel the advantages of reform. 

So, why is Dr M trying to gather the souls of MPs of the dying UMNO?

That is something that we need to ponder over.

In the meantime, I will just say this; Mahathir and Pribumi's inducements for UMNO MPs to betray UMNO and the Malay voters who voted for UMNO is very, very bad for Malaysian democracy.

And, in the wee hours that I am blogging this, in a moment of insane nano second flickering flash of insight, I may have had a delusionary thought that maybe, just maybe, but, I cannot be sure, Mahathir is wielding his secret keris to subvert the multiracial Parti Keadilan's position of having 50 MPs and the Pakatan Harapan coalition's equation of elected MPs so that Pribumi will dominate as the new UMNO. Nakhoda lama jadi nakhoda kapal baru. Nadi lama tak ubah langsung. Inilah sandiwara yang paling tinggi tahapnya. 

What is that old saw about a leopard being unable to change its spots?

But, no, it cannot be true-la. Mahathir has experienced a second Lazarus Effect. He is a manusia bertaubat. Surely, the old Mahafiraun, authoritarian Mahathir is gone and, now we have a brand spanking new grandpatriarchal Mahathir. Didn't he shed tears in the video ad when hugging the 2 innocent children saying that Atuk needed to correct past mistakes?

Ya-la. I am delusionary aren't I?

As a postscript, here is a piece of JFK wisdom imparted during his Inaugural Address on the freezing morning of January 20, 1961-

... remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.

Anwar Ibrahim - Malaysia's chameleon

This is a piece from the Economist that makes for an interesting and thought-provoking read. It has to be said that this piece does seem to be rather superficial in that Anwar Ibrahim has been more consistent in his statements as opposed to the conclusion in the piece that suggests that Anwar has said different things to different groups. In this sense the piece may be said to be rather unfair to Anwar:

The rise, fall and rise of Anwar Ibrahim, South-East Asia’s most extraordinary politician

Illustration by M. Morgenstern

ONE evening in mid-July Anwar Ibrahim was deep in the rubber-tapping state of Kelantan in northern Malaysia, urging a crowd of rural folk to vote for a devout fishmonger. The candidate was from the conservative Islamic Party (PAS). A tiny by-election for the state assembly PAS already dominates is ordinarily small beer (or would be, if PAS allowed such a beverage, which it does not). But Mr Anwar needs PAS. For the paradox is that without the Islamists, the alliance he leads of Malay modernisers, Indians and secular Chinese has little chance of driving the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) from power. The coalition that UMNO dominates has ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957. Mr Anwar longs for UMNO’s destruction. The feeling is mutual.

That morning, Mr Anwar had been in Perth where he had met Australia’s foreign minister. What had he been doing with Stephen Smith? “Plotting,” replies Mr Anwar, with a conspiratorial wink. Mr Anwar spends a lot of time abroad with national and religious leaders whose names he drops slightly too easily into an engaging conversational style. He moves like quicksilver from one intriguing subject to the next, but you get the uncanny sense that he is speaking to what interests you.

Mr Anwar thinks he will soon need international support. Two days after stumping in Kelantan, pre-trial hearings began in a case in which Mr Anwar stands accused of sodomising a political aide “against the order of nature”. Mr Anwar vigorously denies the charges. He says he is the victim of a political stitch-up. International outrage might help him. Much is fishy about the case. Photographs of the former aide who brought the accusations show him with UMNO members, including people close to the current prime minister, Najib Razak. The charge has been changed from sexual assault to “consensual sex”, yet his accuser has not been charged. (All homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia.)

Mr Anwar has been here before. In 1998 he was charged with corruption and homosexual acts. In custody, he was beaten up by the chief of police. He spent six years in jail, mostly in solitary confinement, until his conviction was overturned. Upon release, his political career seemed over.

It is easy to forget now but for many years Mr Anwar led a charmed life. He made his name as an Islamist student leader in the 1970s and was even jailed under the draconian Internal Security Act. Then he shocked his former colleagues by joining UMNO, where his rise was spectacular. By 1993 he was deputy prime minister and heir to Mahathir Mohamad, the country’s long-serving leader. Malaysia seemed about to fall into his lap. “Ah,” says Mr Anwar, “the good old days.”

But during the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, Mr Anwar moved too soon against his mentor, who after 16 years in power was not ready to bow out. Mr Anwar railed against the UMNO cronyism from which he had benefited. Livid, Dr Mahathir threw him out of the cabinet and launched Mr Anwar’s persecution. Mr Anwar’s reformasi movement sputtered out with his jailing.

Yet the hopes which that movement represented surged again after the general election of March 2008, and especially after August 2008 when Mr Anwar won a seat in Penang. In the election the ruling coalition lost its precious two-thirds majority which gave it power to change the constitution. It has since lost five out of six by-elections to Mr Anwar’s forces, which also control four of 13 states. In getting out its message, the opposition has been helped by an explosion of internet opinion that has undermined the influence of the UMNO-controlled mainstream media.

UMNO’s back is against the wall. Even its own officials admit to its arrogance, with corruption bound into the fabric of its power. The New Economic Policy (NEP, introduced in 1971) instituted racial preferences for majority Malays, when ethnic Chinese and Indians owned much of business. But instead of helping the poor, the NEP has enriched rent-seekers around the ruling party, while dragging down economic growth. Resentment has spread from Chinese and Indians to poor or pious Malays.

This has made possible Mr Anwar’s strange alliance. In calling for the end to the NEP, he says poor Chinese and Indians need help as much as Malays—but because there are more poor Malays than other races, they will still get the lion’s share of government help. It is a possible way out from the baneful influence of race on Malaysian politics. But the real strength of this alliance is that Mr Anwar’s charisma and political nous holds it together. Alas, that it is potential weakness, too.

Trials and tribulations

The challenges for Mr Anwar and his alliance will now multiply. For a start, Mr Najib, prime minister since April, has said the NEP must adapt, stealing some of his opponent’s thunder.

Then there is the time-consuming trial. Mr Anwar says he will win whatever the verdict. If he is acquitted, the government which brought the case will be discredited. If found guilty, tens of thousands of supporters will take to the streets. Mr Anwar hints tantalisingly at new information in a murder case that has gripped the country partly because of its links to Mr Najib. This, he suggests, gives him ammunition to fight back.

Intriguing, but it is unlikely to be enough. If Mr Anwar does go to jail, the alliance may not survive the loss of its leader. If he calls out his supporters—for something of the martyr lurks in him—he may be blamed for the ensuing chaos. And if he appeals to international opinion, his local supporters may question that.

This points to a trap waiting to catch the silver-tongued Mr Anwar, who deftly tells different audiences—religious or secular—what they like to hear. The same blogosphere that helped his meteoric rise may one day pay more attention to his chameleon qualities. Malaysians would then come to ask more closely: who and what exactly does Anwar stand for?

The Dayak Dilemma (Part 3)

This is the third instalment of Sim Kwang Yang's Dayak Dilemma series in Malaysiakini. In this instalment Sim traces the changes made to the role of the Tuai Rumah or Tua Kampung in villages that dot the Sarawak landscape.

Sim's piece quotes generously from the very wise, articulate and knowledgeable blogger, Joseph Tawie, whose blog The Broken Shield I discovered many, many months ago.

(Pic) Mr Johnny (right) and Mr Joseph both proudly holding a book that they respectively authored - "The Broken Shield - The Birth of Dayakism" & "Gempung Jerita Tuai Bansa Iban". Picture and caption from here.

I need to digress a little to make the observation that Joseph Tawie's writings on Sarawak, and the land, cultural and economic issues challenging the Dayak community in Sarawak, are always infused with dignified and considered reasoning set within a rich vein of wisdom as only age and life experience can give. Top all that with highly-readable prose and, we have a blog that is truly worthy of reading.

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Not surprisingly, Joseph Tawie has published a book entitled The Broken Shield and, according to Sim, he is in the process of publishing a follow-up book, The Broken Shield Part Two - The Dayak Dilemma which sounds like a companion volume to the first book.

Now, back to Sim's piece. He traces the slow, but sure, emasculation of the role of the Tuai Rumah from that of an avuncular community leader that commands the respect of the villagers by virtue of his deep knowledge of customs, culture and values to that of paternalistic leaders whose appointment is entirely subject to approval of a minor state official.

The new version of Tuai Rumah is said to maintain his standing by way of having financial largesse to dispense to villagers. Those who conform are rewarded with a share of the allocated funds. Recalcitrant ones will not receive allocation.

Some may say that this pecuniary approach to exercising power and control is a practical and effective tool to maintain obedience. Others will see it as an emasculatory insult to the dignity of an entire race of Malaysians. This is Sim's third part:
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While PKR chief Anwar Ibrahim has made grand declaration of intent on taking power in the next Sarawak elections, very few Sarawakians themselves would be convinced that it would be an easy venture.

MCPX

I myself would be happy if the opposition coalition can win 24 or more state seats, thus denying BN a two-thirds majority in the Sarawak state assembly. Twenty-four indeed would be well within striking distance, since I expect the DAP and their partners to do well in the urban constituencies.

But in Sarawak, as in other parts of the country, opposition politics can only survive in the urban Chinese areas for a certain time. In native majority areas in Sarawak, opposition parties that have no ambition to rule the state will not attract bright political talent as well as the support of the voters. So what Anwar has announced is not just grandstanding, but the right thing to do.

Again, those of us who are familiar with politics in Sarawak know that the challenge of toppling the BN state government is harder than the ten Herculean Tasks put together. Massive vote-buying is rampant in rural constituencies, and has come to be expected by voters themselves. It has become a way of life in Sarawak.

Equally significant is the unique social structure of the rural communities in Sarawak.

The native communities are very closely-knit communities. They have to be because they live in far-flung isolated terrains and mutual dependence and close social cohesion is the way to be for their collective survival. Blood ties through generations of close marriages between neighbouring villages also mean that members of a local community are often related.

(In an election, the success and failure of a candidate sometimes depends on how many relatives a candidate has within the constituency!)

Within any one village, the most authoritative figure would be the village head, the ‘Tua Kampung’ or the ‘Tuai Rumah’ (in the case of the Ibans)

The village chief used to be an expert in native customary laws so that he could settle disputes between different households on various civil and criminal cases. In that sense, he was also a judge of sort. Nowadays, as the head of the JKKK, the village security and development committee, he has undisputed power over his charges under him. To the outside world, he is also the sole representative and spokesman for the whole village.

Not all chiefs that compliant

These village chiefs used to be freely elected by their villagers. Sometimes, the position was a hereditary one, passed down from father to son.

After the emergence of political parties in Sarawak following independence in 1963, it was increasingly clear that the Tua Kampong and the Tuai Rumah played a critical role in the fight for grassroots political support.

In fact, the Sarawak BN government has been quite successful over the past few decades through all kinds of administrative fiat in bringing these otherwise independent village chiefs under their direct control.

Today, even if a village headman is still elected by his villagers, his status must first be confirmed by the BN-controlled state government. He is answerable to low-grade state civil servants like district officers and the residents above them. Today, a village chief is akin to somebody at the lowest rung of the state civil service.

Joseph Tawi, in a Jan 6 posting on his blog has this to say:

‘Today, the criteria for Tuai Rumah have changed; he must be educated at least up to Form Three, be pro-Barisan Nasional (BN) and not necessarily having a deep knowledge of Iban Adat (this he can learn from the Tusun Tunggu, a book containing all the customs, traditions, taboos, fines, etc.).

‘After being elected, his appointment must be endorsed by the government so that an allowance of RM450 per month can be given to him. His duties include being the ‘eyes and ears’ of the BN government, a judge, a law-enforcer, tax-collector, consultant, and chairman of the JKKK (Village Security and Development Committee) through which government funds are being channelled.’

Be that as it may, not all village chiefs are all that compliant. I have personally met village chiefs who could stand up against powerful logging and plantation interests on behalf of their people. For their bravery and their service, they had been removed from their posts by the state government who then appointed others to replace them.

In the case of one such Tuai Rumah somewhere upstream from Bintulu along the Kemena River, he had merely led his villagers to fight against a logging company that had infringed upon their NCR land. For that, he was accused by the Pengulu Court of the crime of bulak (lying) under the adat istiadat, the Iban customary laws.

He felt great shame for being charged with this minor crime. On the day of the court hearing, I brought along a heavyweight lawyer from Kuching to defend him. The ‘Pengulu’ and the ‘Pemanca’ who were supposed to try him evaporated into thin air.

We also attended a gawai in his longhouse and made fiery speeches to exonerate this wonderful Tuai Rumah from his alleged sin. I was still a ‘YB’ then and my words carried quite some weight with the village folks.

But general elections are a different business altogether in the rural communities.

Naturally, it is common for village voters to defer to the opinion of the Tuai Kampong or the

Tuai Rumah even on the matter of voting for a candidate. But I have been to some longhouses where the village was split into two over their choice of candidate. After the election was over, the losing side would just move out and build another longhouse for themselves. Only my Iban readers can appreciate the financial difficulty and the emotional pain of such a drastic move.

Now, Joseph Tawi has something new to report on the same blog posting quoted above. The paragraphs below are taken from his soon-to-be-published book The Broken Shield Volume Two – The Dayak Dilemma.

No seat is easy to win

‘In this 2006 election, the BN devised an entirely different campaign strategy, which caught the opposition with their pants down. Previously, the money was passed directly to the voters on the eve of polling. This time the distribution was done through their Tuai Rumah.

‘Three days before polling, all the headmen were summoned for a meeting where they were coached to say something to their own people. And on their return to their respective longhouses, they were given some money that was to be shared with the voters of their own longhouses. In addition to this, there were also minor rural development projects that were promised to be implemented.

‘The Tuai Rumah then called for a meeting of the longhouse folks and ordered them to vote for the BN candidates. Anyone who failed to follow his order or directive would not be given any share of the goodies or any project that the government had promised them. And he was also likely to be expelled from the longhouse.

‘The Tuai Rumah must ensure that his followers must vote for the BN candidate, otherwise the BN candidate would report him to the district officer, the resident or the state secretary. As a Tuai Rumah is like a civil servant, action including the termination of his Tuai Rumahship could be taken against him. He might lose his monthly allowance of RM450 per month. And the promised minor rural development projects might be withdrawn.

‘In Daniel Tajem’s constituency of Bukit Begunan, he was defeated by a man, Mong Dagang, whom he had picked to replace him in the 1996 state election. Tajem practically lost in all the longhouses in the five polling districts. Before the money came, many longhouse chiefs and their followers had pledged their support to him who had represented them in six previous elections.

After the distribution of money and the threats issued, everything changed; longhouse headmen, their followers and even Tajem’s own relatives voted against him. And a similar tale of vote- buying had also been reported in other Dayak constituencies.’

Daniel Tajem – a long-time personal friend of mine – may be unknown outside Sarawak,

but he is still a household name in the Land of the Hornbills. He had held that constituency -Bukit Bangunan - near the town of Sri Aman six times, including the period when he was in the opposition. When an established brand name like that can fall to the hands of vote-buying and puppet-like Tuai Rumah, no seat is easy to win for any opposition party – including PKR.

I suppose that, once the Kuala Terengganu by-election is over, Anwar Ibrahim and his team of advisers would be sitting down over the impending Sarawak battle ahead. They would be thinking of what pledges to make to the people of Sarawak, if and when they take over the Sarawak government with the help of the other opposition parties.

Surely one of those pledges must be the restoring of the autonomy of the democratically-elected village chiefs throughout the state. The state government must recognise whoever is elected by the villagers as their headman, and pay them well nevertheless. Empowering the rakyat at the grassroots level would be the most meaningful reform in rural Sarawak indeed.

Part One is available here.
My observation of Part Two is available here.

Sim Kwang Yang unleashed

I have been enjoying Sim Kwang Yang's columns in Malaysiakini all this time. In all this time I have noticed his remarkable restraint and balanced analysis. Sim's considerable intellect and excellent penmanship is always a pleasure to read.

In his latest piece entitled, Changing the Head Hornbill in S'wak, the ex-DAP Sarawak pol has maintained his balanced analysis with a major difference. This time Sim leaves a sting. The quiescent lion has decided to roar louder now.

Sim's piece is revealing in suggesting that the mood has very palpably changed in Sarawak from the possibility of change to the probability of change. The difference lies in the mobilisation of the Dayak vote.

Once again, I take the liberty to reproduce the Malaysiakini in full so that as many Malaysians as possible (those who bother to visit this blog, anyway) can further understand the nuances of Sarawak politics and the significance it portends as a major tipping point for overall political change in Malaysia as a whole.
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Should Abdul Taib Mahmud - the chief minister of Sarawak - step down, after 27 years at the helm of near absolute power in the resource rich state?

MCPX

Does PBB - his party that holds half the number of seats in the Sarawak State Assembly - bully the other component parties of the Sarawak Barisan Nasional? The answer to both questions is a resounding yes!

But this kind of questions is only relevant to members and supporters of the Sarawak BN. Other Sarawakians know very well that Taib will not step down on his own accord.

He has to cling on to the throne in Sarawak, to protect the future of his gargantuan family conglomerate CMS (an acronym that could designate the company Cahaya Mata Sarawak or the title Chief Minister of Sarawak - an interesting coincidence).

Whenever conversations meander off onto the topic of the Sarawak CM in private circles, it is hard for people not to mention CMS in the same breath. Its dominant presence in the Sarawak's economy - especially in the public sector in the state - is well known.

Actually, the acronym for CMS has its origins in a precursor to the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC): Cement Manufacturers Sarawak.

The report in The Edge

The repressed press of Malaysian media have seldom told the story of CMS. On the other hand, there have been a few reports by international media on Taib's family business. The following report by Michael Backman, entitled 'In Sarawak, politics and cash are all in the family', was published in The Edge on March 15 2001 in Melbourne, Australia:

"CMS Group was originally a joint venture between the state government's Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) and the neighbouring state of Sabah.

The group started as a monopoly cement producer to feed the building boom in both states. In 1989, the Sabah government sold its stake and the Sarawak government decided the company should be listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. At the same time, the chief minister's brother, Onn bin Mahmud, and his two sons, Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib and Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib, were brought in.

The Taib family owns about half the company and the SEDC's equity has been diluted to about eight percent. Effectively, the chief minister had decided to privatise CMS - and it was his family that bought it.

CMS has since expanded to more than 40 subsidiaries that operate in infrastructure development, water supply, steel making, transport, manufacturing, property development, financial services and stock broking.

But CMS is not the Taib family's only business concern. Timber is the main source of Sarawak's wealth. Logging concessions, which the Sarawak government hands out, are are a license to print money. The chief minister's family happens to possess significant logging concessions.

Indeed, claims have been published that companies associated with Taib and his supporters hold about 1.6 million hectares in timber concessions with a combined logged value of up to US$12 billion.

Taib's time in politics has coincided with the apparent accumulation of enormous family wealth. He is known for his expensive tastes - he is rumoured to have paid almost US$2 million for the grand piano that belonged to late American showman Liberace."

There it is. The above report, published in 2001, is still relevant today. The question of whether Taib's discharge of his official duty as CM amidst the meteoric rise of CMS constitutes a conflict of interest or outright corruption is a purely academic one.

As long as he can deliver all or nearly all 31 parliamentary seats in Sarawak to keep the Umno prime minister in power, as has been proven during the March 8 general election, the PM and all the federal agencies under his jurisdiction will not touch the Sarawak CM with a ten-foot pole.

A dynasty in the making?

If you check into the traffic on Sarawak Internet, you will find the name of the CM, together with the name of Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu, the most vilified and defiled names in the state. A referendum among Sarawak netizens will conclude that indeed the CM has overstayed his welcome.

But the CM will not go gently into the good night in more ways than one. His brother joined the Sarawak State Assembly as a member in the last state election in 2006.

In the May parliamentary election, his son Sulaiman was elected as MP, and was promptly co-opted into the federal government as a deputy minister, presumably to learn about the art of government. Do we see a dynasty in the making? Only time will tell.

Therefore, for Taib's detractors to fulfill their dream of changing the chief minister of Sarawak, there is only one way, and that is through the next state general election speculated to be held as early as next year.

Slightly more than a week ago, during a dinner in Sibu organised by "Friends of PKR", 4000 people of all races turned up to welcome Anwar Ibrahim and witness a public ceremony in which Gabriel Adit, the current independent state assemblyperson representing Ngemah and a former vice-president of the now defunct Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) submit his application to join PKR, together with 12,000 others.

The choice of Sibu as the dinner venue is significant. Sibu is sited on the bank of the mighty Rejang River, and upstream, the Rejang basin is one of the most notable Iban heartlands in Sarawak. Adit's dramatic personal political make-over is symbolic for many disgruntled Dayaks in Sarawak. Some Dayaks have already predicted a new dawn for Sarawak, a revival of Dayak power on the political scene in the state.

Nothing is impossible in politics I suppose, having just witnessed the historic conclusion of the American presidential election. But Sarawak is no America, and Sarawakians are a far cry from Americans in many political aspects.

The opposition parties in Sarawak are now fragmented and weakened, divided by race, region, and personal feuds among their leaders. The hounds also run with the hares. The Sarawak political arena is quite a muddied pond full of all kinds of reptiles, swimming along with the real dragons.

Eventually, the Achilles' Heel of the opposition parties in Sarawak is their lack of funds, in sharp contrast to the seemingly inexhaustible source of funds lying in the Barisan Nasional war chest.

Unlike politics in the peninsula states, Sarawak politics, especially in the rural constituencies, is still mired in money politics. That is why the cash-rich Sarawak BN has been so successful in so many past parliamentary and state elections.

I have met many rural voters who actually would demand cash for their votes. Ugly as it may seem, it has become one of the less savoury features of Sarawak democracy.

To break this distasteful tradition, the opposition must not buy votes, or give all kinds of largesse during general elections, including building materials, personal gifts in kind, or standing feasts that can last throughout the duration of the campaign period. (Yes, this is how things are done in Sarawak.)

They must device more meaningful and innovative methods of campaigning, the likes of which Sarawak rural voters have never seen before.

Anwar's full attention

But then there is still the huddle of reaching the rural voters. There is still the question of funding, needed for large groups of canvassers and campaigners to travel long distances across difficult terrain to motivate and organise local grassroots leaders in every village and every longhouse throughout this vast and sparsely populated state where modern infrastructure for communication and transport is primitive at best.

We are talking about hundreds and thousands of ringgit for one rural constituency alone. Multiply that by the 50 or so rural and semi-rural constituencies and you get the rough estimate of how much money it takes to change the CM of Sarawak.

This is only one hurdle. I can write a book on the problems and experiences of contesting in Sarawak alone.

But the great dinner in Sibu is a good start towards solving those problems. Obviously Anwar was suitably impressed; he said that if the response from Sarawakians is so good, he should perhaps visit Sarawak more often.

I believe PKR is a suitable vehicle for positive change in Sarawak for various reasons, not least of which is the clout of the party in national politics and in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

For that change to happen, Anwar may have to turn his full attention to this vast eastern state of Sarawak - now.

He has to go there often, to heal wounds among the opposition camp, to build consensus and coalition, to work out a statewide strategy, coin mission statements, supervise organisation, to recruit new talents who will be free from negative political baggage, and above all, squeeze out the funds from whatever resources at his disposal for the big campaign. He has to do it, like yesterday.

The prize is worth his trouble. In Sarawak, state power determines the outcome of the parliamentary elections most of the time. A change of the chief minister will greatly improve Anwar's chance of becoming the prime minister of Malaysia in the next parliamentary general election.

For justice in the Land of the Hornbill in the emergence of a new Malaysia!

Anwar: Sarawak holds key to PKR government

SIBU, Nov 16 — Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Sarawak, which has 30 members of parliament, holds the key to the formation of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government in the country.

"When Sarawak changes its course, the Barisan Nasional government will collapse," he said at a dinner organised by "Friends of PKR" at the Sibu Trade and Exhibition centre here last night.

He said leaders in the PR coalition like Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang of Pas, Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng of DAP and himself and his wife would continue to meet and hold discussions with BN MPS to get them to cross over.

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About 3,000 people were present at the dinner, the biggest so far for a PKR function here.

Those present included PKR vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Jeffery Kitingan, Sarawak DAP leader Wong Ho Leng, former Sri Aman MP Jimmy Donald and Baginda Minda, the former Parti Rakyat Sarawak Balleh branch publicity chief, who caused a furore with his statement accusing the state dominant BN party, the Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu, of being a bully.

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At the function, Anwar received membership application forms from Gabriel Adit Demong, one of two independent state assemblymen, and from 11,752 individuals from throughout the state.

Anwar said Sarawakians were now ready for change, saying Adit had volunteered to lead a recruitment drive for more members for PR.

"Do not be surprise if what had happened in five peninsula states in the March general elections could happen here," he said, adding that PR was prepared to face the coming state election.

He also claimed that several people from the state had visited him to express their interests to join PKR.

Meanwhile, Adit said a lot of BN members were "waiting in the wing" to join him and that his decision in joining PKR was "the first of many instalments" over the next few months.

Source: Malaysian Insider

Wag the dog

In the 1997 movie from which this post borrows its title, Robert de Niro played a Washington spin doctor who attempts to distract the electorate from a U.S. presidential sex scandal. de Niro's character retains the services of a Hollywood movie producer, played by Dustin Hoffman, to fabricate a fake war with Albania.

That movie was a perfect parody of the Machiavellian schemes concocted by ruling elites throughout the world. To lift sagging popularity create a national crisis. There is no equivalent to a national crisis in rallying the people to flag-waving patriotism.

George H.W. Bush (the father) was at the height of his popularity when he initiated the righteous war against Iraq as retaliation for Saddam Hussein's invasion of a hapless Kuwait. But Bush senior drowned when seeking re-election in 1992 against Bill "It's the economy, stupid" Clinton. By then echoes of the heroic Iraq War I had faded. Bush senior had lost his halo.

George W. Bush (the son) had advisers that learnt from that sad debacle. In a series of escalating crises, starting from 9/11 to the Afghan war to Iraq War II, Bush junior rode crisis after crisis to sustain his desperation to remain President. Despite Michael Moore's attempts to demonise him. Despite glaring evidence ex post facto (after the fact), that there were no weapons of mass destruction there were enough numbers in the electorate who believed that for so long as the U.S. nation was at war, any war, they needed to unite under the Star Spangled Banner and, support the incumbent. The Democratic challenger, John Kerry, never had a chance, even with all the Heinz ketchup money.

Crisis signals opportunity

John F. Kennedy has been quoted as saying, When written in Chinese, the word "crisis" is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity. 

How true!

In the current economic turmoil, there are two examples of leaders whose sagging popularity is on the mend, just as they are perceived to have exercised true leadership in economic crisis management.

Gordon Brown

As recently as a month ago, the current British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, was being villified by the entire British Isles, or so, it would have seemed at the time. He was accused of have done a Brutus by turning on Tony Blair during Blair's waning days. He was even accused of being dour and dull in contrast to the effervescent and affable Blair. 

But, before Pak Lah rushes to call Brown to commiserate, I have to say that Brown's popularity is rising again like a Golden Phoenix from the ashes. The reason? The recapitalization package that Brown and his finance minister, Alistair Darling, announced last Wednesday (put together with Bank of England officials over a late-night take-out dinner of Indian curry) that is seen to have put Britain ahead of the U.S. in dealing with the economic crisis.

Kevin Rudd

The sheen was in the process of being rubbed off Rudd and his ultra-liberal (Pardon the pun. You would understand the pun if you know that Rudd's party's greatest nemesis is the Liberal Party. Liberal. Get it? No?) policies, like apologising to the Aboriginal community, putting bald ex-rock band Midnight Oil lead singer, Peter Garrett, as Minister for the Environment, and so on.

But, before Pak Lah dials Rudd's number to console him, I have also got to say that Rudd's popularity is also on the mend. This morning (Monday October 13) the Australian stock market rebounded in response to Rudd's weekend announcement that all deposits in Australian financial institutions would be guaranteed for three years. The government also doubled to $8 billion the funds available to improve liquidity in financial markets.

Leadership indicia

Brown and Rudd. Heroic in the wake of the Wall Street debacle. Now transitory heroes in the eyes of their supporters and critics in the face of economic crisis.

Any lessons for Malaysia's leaders?

Judging from his preternatural disposition for high dramatics, current Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, would understand the point of this blog post. Anwar would highlight the terrible crisis that has engulfed the Western economies. He would point to the grave deficiencies that exist in the Malaysian economy. He would cite categorically the high incidence of rent-seeking behaviour and cronyism that has robbed the Malaysian economy of its competitiveness. And, I believe that he is in the process of saying pretty much all this in Parliament inasmuch as he has said so over the weekend. 

This taps right into the psyche of the nervous Malaysian middle-class and, eventually, the working class.

Judging from his preternatural disposition for the bland and the dull, Prime Minister-designate

Najib Razak, may not get the point. Najib is likely to adopt a position that the Malaysian economy recorded excellent results in the first two quarters of 2008, as of July the Malaysia's trade surplus grew by several percentage points compared to last year, and drone on and drone on. A quick check on the calendar would show that we are in the middle of October and, by the way, some time after July there was the small matter of Wall Street having collapsed taking down many financial institutions which, is in the process of spilling over into the real economy and, given the time-lag, many bad things will reach Malaysian shores. 

The JFK piece of wisdom only works if it resonates with the correct leader. Otherwise, there is no resonance. Apart from Anwar, are there any other takers? Anyone?

Who makes a better PM?

Malaysiakini carried a report on a survey done by the Merdeka Centre that points to 40% of Malaysians believing that Anwar Ibrahim would make a better Prime Minister than Najib Razak, who scored a 34% approval rating. About 25% of Malaysians were either undecided or unimpressed with either leader. According to the Merdeka Centre, total of 1,002 persons were randomly polled between over two weeks between Sept 11 and 22.

At the same time, Merdeka Centre found that more than 50% of Malay voters polled recently felt Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Ahmad Ismail's controversial remarks about the Chinese community were inappropriate.

Juxtaposing these two polls, one can surmise that the moribund state of the UMNO and BN leadership has not impressed Malaysians.

Add to this, the genuine concern over Malaysia's economic management or, the apparent lack of it, and we see the uphill task that faces UMNO and BN.

Do you feel better off today than you did 5 years ago?
When Ronald Reagan challenged Jimmy Carter for the U.S. presidency in 1979, he posed this question in the course of a debate with Carter. It was rhetorical. But, it worked. Reagan won by a handsome margin.

There is a broad parallel that can be drawn between the Carter Administration and the Badawi-Najib Administration. Both are regarded as plodding and unimaginative.

This feeling and perception between and amongst voters is a powerful phenomenon that is difficult to dislodge. And, the truth of the matter is that the average Malaysian feels that he or she is worse off than they were 5 years ago.

In 2003, the Malaysian economy had, by most accounts, recovered to reasonable health. And, when the torch was passed by an authoritarian Dr M to a kinder and gentler Pak Lah, Malaysians felt a relief. That feeling and perception was translated into one of the largest landslide victories in Malaysia's electoral history. The Badawi-Najib Administration's inability to parlay that groundswell of goodwill into genuine political and governmental reforms and, more importantly, economic management, came home to roost in the March 8 general elections.

Najib's albatross
This record now hangs as the albatross on Najib's neck. Like it or not, he was at all material times the loyal Deputy. He can hardly deny being privy to the decisions made or, unmade.

This is Najib's dilemma. To remove the albatross, Najib has to eventually attack the flip-flop policies and, find a way to distance himself from it. But that is only one aspect.

Second, Najib has to attend to the judicial reforms and police commission reforms. He has to revamp the manner in which the government dishes out contracts and licences and permits; from an opaque structure to a more transparent structure. But, will he do it? Is he capable to that level of leadership? Does he have the spine that was well-hidden during the entire tenure that he was and, still is, Deputy to Pak Lah?

Anwar's plight
Having galvanised the vociferous support and, having captured the imagination of vast swatches of multiracial Malaysia to the historic outcome in the March 8 general elections, Anwar kept upping the ante with crossover scenarios and deadlines. But there is only so much adrenaline that can be pumped out in the Malaysian organism. And so, we witness a pause, a pause pregnant with possibilities. But, no less a pause. This is a test of true faith for PKR and Pakatan supporters.

Leaving aside the tactical issues in the shadow-play that typifies Malaysian politics, Anwar can still claim to enjoy a high level of goodwill among Malaysians. The Merdeka Centre survey results point to this.

Unlike Najib, who is still grappling with his new Finance portfolio, Anwar can claim that he's been there and, he's done it, as an economic manager. In his numerous speeches, Anwar is obviously very, very clear that the part of his message that was so resonant with voters was on economics. By focusing on harga minyak and calling BN, barang naik, his warnings were proven to be prophetic when the fuel hike took place and, inflation ensued.

But, the route to high office requires crossovers. Then, there's the nuisance of the sodomy trial.

Realpolitik
But, at the rate things are moving along, Najib is the odds-on favourite to reach the post of Prime Minister. As with all things Malaysian, nothing is as it seems. Bets must be hedged heavily on Anwar's ascent too. He's got some interesting odds, too.

Back to the question, who makes the better PM? If Malaysians like excitement and significant changes, then Anwar is the man. With Najib, the status quo ante will be the order, it is likely to be more of the same. Under Najib there is likely to be changes, but how deep and profound changes will be is the major question. Najib, being a patrician born with a silver-spoon in his mouth is a political leader who has steered a careful path in the public eye (if you don't count his rah-rah days as an ultra UMNO Youth leader in 1987). Najib is likely to be a gradualist and incrementalist. For quantum leap possibilities you have to dial Anwar's number.

Anwar and JFK: Idealists without illusions

John F Kennedy
(1917-1963)

"I cannot single out any one day as the time I began to understand John Kennedy as a human being. gradually I discovered that the simplicity of this man's tastes and demeanour was, while genuine, deceptive as well as disarming. Although he possessed unusual empathy, and a remarkable sense of what was fitting and appropriate for every kind of of occasion, he never put on an act, feigning anger or joy when he did not feel it. Nevertheless his hidden qualities outnumbered the apparent. ...with all his ordinary ways, (he) was an enormously complex and extraordinarily competent man.

I came to marvel at his ability to look at his own strengths and weaknesses with utter detachment, his candid and objective responses to public questions, and his insistence on cutting through prevailing bias and myths to the heart of the problem. He had a disciplined and analytical mind. Even his instincts, which were sound, came from his reason rather than his hunches. He hated no enemy, he wept at no adversity.

But I also learned in time that this cool, analytical mind was stimulated by a warm, compassionate heart. Beneath the careful pragmatic approach lay increasingly deep convictions on basic goals and unusual determination to achieve them."

"As John Buchan wrote of a friend in John Kennedy's favourite book, Pilgrim's Way, "He disliked emotion, not because he felt lightly but because he felt deeply. " John Kennedy could always look at himself objectively and laugh at himself wholeheartedly - and those two rare gifts enabled him to talk lightly while feeling deeply. As he said himself about Robert Frost, "His sense of the human tragedy fortified him against self-deception and easy consolation."

Extracted from Theodore C. Sorensen, KENNEDY (1965)

I don't know Anwar, the man. But at some level, to use John Kennedy's words, he is clearly an idealist without illusions. From where many Malaysians stand, that is far better than the group of politicians running the country at the present time.

Some may be apprehensive about his past politics. But, to his credit, Anwar has acknowledged his past. He has not denied it nor has he attempted to spin it any differently. That is what it is, his past. To hold his past against him would be to deny ourselves a possible and, alternative future trajectory.

What makes the possible alternative future trajectory for Malaysia very compelling is what we are witnessing in the present Malaysia.

If March 8 was a tilting point, then the tipping point may well be the usage of the ISA against RPK, Teresa Kok and Tan Hoon Cheng. Let us not forget the HINDRAF leaders and other ISA detainees. The ISA, as many have reiterated, is an anti-terrorism law crafted at a time when communism was still a threat to Malaysia. Seen from this perspective, how it can even be used against Tan Hoon Cheng, a journalist who was doing her job of reporting the truth, completely beggars belief. To many Malaysians, this single act by the government of the day, is a window into the current future trajectory of Malaysia.

As Malaysians were digesting this indigestible future, we were treated to an ominous reminder of the past and, bleak future by Dr M who wrote this dubious piece. Coming from the ex-PM who had a vision of Bangsa Malaysia and, the man who is going to return to UMNO, many Malaysian hearts have been broken by Dr M's blog article.

That is why now, more so than ever, many Malaysians cling to the alternative vision of the future offered by Anwar Ibrahim. His many detractors question his sincerity. Others, like me, being less sanguine about the future of Malaysia offered by the current government (or Dr M) prefer to give Anwar the benefit of doubt. Anwar, being a man of intelligence, has shown that he has the capacity for learning from bitter experience. The same cannot be said of the politicians running the current government.

This man has been an outsider twice in a three-act dramatic play. In Act I, as an outsider, he was the student leader who became the ABIM leader that led a rainbow coalition of many Malaysian clubs and societies against the Societies Bill in 1981. Act II was his insider UMNO phase.

This is Act III. He is an outsider again, together with the rest of us.
__________________________________

LATEST UPDATE:

Anwar claims more than 31 MPs will cross over to Pakatan

The Star Online reports at 3.20 pm Sept 16, that, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has claimed that more than 31 Barisan MPs have agreed to cross over to Pakatan Rakyat.

He, however, refused to reveal the names of the 31 MPs.

Anwar told a press conference at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya on Tuesday that he would give the list of the names to the Prime Minister, when he meets him.

The Permatang Pauh MP also claimed that the transition to the new Government has been delayed a few days pending the meeting with Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to ensure a smooth and peaceful transition.

He said it was up to Abdullah to agree to the meeting and its date.

Anwar said that in a letter submitted to Abdullah on Monday, Pakatan had made four demands to ensure a smooth transition:

1) That Barisan does not hinder or prevent the MPs from acting in accordance with their conscience, constitutional rights and independentjudgement;

2) That the Barisan government should not invoke the Internal Security Act to detain the MPs or any other current Pakatan MPs;

3) That the Barisan government does not invoke emergency laws or police powers or suspend the Constitution or dissolve Parliament; and

4) That the Barisan government shall not impose roadblocks or impede MPs from going to Parliament or any institution of government.

New York Times on Anwar

This is a piece from the New York Times that I am reproducing in full. There is no need to editorialise. The challenging times in Malaysia warrants that Malaysians cast aside any concerns about uncertainties arising from change. The time has arrived for fence-sitters to make a concerted decision to support change. If you are still wondering whether change is warranted, just ask the ISA detainees:

By the most obvious yardstick, this country of 25 million people is a democracy: Malaysia has held regular elections since independence from Britain five decades ago.

Yet during that time power has remained in the hands of one coalition, the media has remained slavishly pro-government, the courts have often hewed closely to the government line and critics of the country’s leadership have been detained without trial in periodic crackdowns.

Now Malaysia may be on the brink of a liberal, more democratic era.

The governing coalition is facing the very real possibility of losing its grip on power to the opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, who says he has enough votes to bring down the government and might do so as early as this week.

Mr. Anwar promises that if he become prime minister, he would not only scrap laws that muzzle criticism, but also upend the father-knows-best style of government and end a longstanding policy that favored the country’s majority Malays over other ethnic groups.

“I think we’re on an irreversible trend of democratization because it’s coming from the bottom up,” said Sivarasa Rasiah, a human rights lawyer and one of many opposition members elected to Parliament in March.

If Mr. Anwar succeeds in taking over the government, his actions could have implications far beyond Malaysia.

A onetime Islamist student radical, Mr. Anwar has emerged over the past decade as one of the leading proponents of the idea that Islam and liberal democracy are complementary. He has cultivated friendships with leaders who share his views in Turkey and Indonesia, and he has built bridges to the West.

He once served as a catalyst for the increasing religiosity among Malaysia’s Muslims. Today he walks the fine line between the secularism of the country’s Constitution and the demands by some Islamic forces, including those in his own coalition, for socially conservative policies.

Mr. Anwar, a former deputy prime minister who once mingled with the very establishment he is now challenging, was re-elected to Parliament in August.

As he and his allies in the opposition gained increased political backing over the past several months, the government under Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has begun to strike back. In July, Mr. Anwar was charged with sodomy for the second time in his career in a case that a large majority of Malaysians surveyed in opinion polls say reeks of politics. And several newspapers have been warned about stepping out of line.

On Friday, a member of Parliament for the opposition, a newspaper reporter and a prominent antigovernment blogger were detained under the internal security act, which allows for indefinite detention without trial. Syed Hamid Albar, the home minister, told reporters on Saturday that the blogger and Parliament member had been detained for inciting ethnic tensions but that the reporter, who was released Saturday after 16 hours, was only questioned about her reporting on a recent controversy involving a member of the governing party.

The governing party has leveled accusations of corruption in the opposition’s campaign to win over defectors: Khairy Jamaluddin, one of the party’s most articulate members, has denounced what he calls “underhanded tactics,” saying members of Parliament have reported being offered money and positions of power in a future government, a charge the opposition denies.

Last week, the battle between the government and opposition flirted with absurdity. First, the governing party dispatched about 50 government lawmakers to Taiwan for what it called an agricultural “study trip,” which appeared to be an attempt to stop them from crossing over to Mr. Anwar’s side.

On Friday, opposition lawmakers followed them to Taiwan, checking into the same hotel in the hopes of convincing would-be defectors to take the leap.

Mr. Anwar initially vowed to bring down the government by Tuesday, saying he had written commitments from enough lawmakers to force the government’s collapse. But he now concedes that the governing coalition’s move to send lawmakers to Taiwan could succeed in drawing off some support, forcing him to delay his bid for power.

The changes that Mr. Anwar has proposed could change Malaysia substantially and fast.

“All the draconian, oppressive laws must go,” Mr. Anwar said in a recent interview.

He promises to repeal Malaysia’s toughest laws that give the government the power to detain opponents without trial, ban unauthorized protests, bar students from participating in politics and keep the news media in line by requiring newspapers and magazines to apply for annual publishing permits.

He would also free all “political prisoners.”

Perhaps most explosive, he said he would end many special privileges for his own ethnic group, the Malays, who are given a variety of advantages, including discounts on houses, exclusive rights to government contracts and a reserved quota of stock-market shares. The privileges have angered the country’s two other main ethnic groups: Malaysian citizens of Chinese and Indian descent.

It was that anger, directed at the ethnically mixed governing coalition, that helped the opposition win just under half the popular vote, by far the best showing for the opposition since independence.

Mr. Anwar contends, and many experts agree, that most of the special privileges are enjoyed by a minority of Malays connected to the governing party. Still, it remains to be seen whether Malays will accept Mr. Anwar’s proposal of policies based on need, not ethnicity. Ethnic tensions have flared in the past, notably in 1969 when at least 200 people were killed in race-related violence.

Mr. Khairy of the governing party argues that Mr. Anwar is moving too fast by proposing to scrap the country’s harshest laws: Malaysia needs them to guard against ethnic strife, he said in an interview.

“We are a maturing democracy,” Mr. Khairy said. “These issues, to me, still need a lot of debate. We need to continue the way the Abdullah administration has done it, which is to reform gradually.”

At least as challenging as balancing the rights of ethnic groups would be managing the struggle between those who prefer a secular government and those who want a wider application of Islamic laws for Muslims, who make up 60 percent of the population.

In a recent interview in his sparsely furnished office, Mr. Anwar apologized to a visitor for the heat and stuffiness; he keeps the air-conditioning off during Ramadan because fasting from sunrise to sunset gives him chills.

But he criticized the decision of the Prime Minister Abdullah to suspend Parliament during Ramadan. “He thinks he’s representing himself as a good Muslim,” Mr. Anwar said. “I think it’s reactionary.”

“If you want to fast, go ahead,” he said. “But go on with your life. If you fast and it causes productivity to drop there’s something wrong with that.”

Some Muslim groups have called for greater punishments for apostates, those who leave the religion, and stronger enforcement of social laws like keeping unmarried couples chaste.

While Mr. Anwar clearly has a strong following, many Malaysians, especially those in the elite who have much to lose if the opposition takes power, question his sincerity and wonder whether a leader who has gone through so many permutations in his career can be trusted.

Mr. Anwar rose to prominence as an Islamic student radical before joining the governing party and eventually becoming deputy prime minister. But he is perhaps best known for his sudden downfall in 1998 shortly after challenging the prime minister at the time, Mahathir Mohamad, for power.

Mr. Anwar was detained under the internal security act, beaten, given a black eye by the chief of police (who lost his job over the episode) and sentenced to 15 years for sodomy and abuse of power in trying to cover up the sodomy allegations. In 2004, the country’s highest court struck down the sodomy verdict and released him, citing faulty procedures by the prosecution, but the judge, in a highly unusual statement, said he believed that the sodomy allegations were true anyway.

Like the charges in the first trial, the latest charges of sodomy, which were lodged by a 23-year-old campaign aide, are considered highly politicized. The deputy prime minister, Najib Razak, a chief rival of Mr. Anwar’s, initially denied that he had anything to do with the case but then admitted that he had met with Mr. Anwar’s accuser before the allegations were made public.

Salehuddin Hashim, a high school friend of Mr. Anwar’s who is now the secretary general of his party, admits to doubts about Mr. Anwar’s past, especially his years in the governing party. Even the party’s leaders admit that money politics and corruption are rampant within the party’s ranks.

“Anwar wasn’t a paragon of justice or virtue,” Mr. Salehuddin said. “He was part of the racket.”

But he said that six years in prison changed Mr. Anwar and made him more sensitive to injustices in Malaysia, a relatively prosperous country with one of the highest levels of income inequality in Asia.

“It’s a credit to Anwar that he managed to galvanize people into focusing what they are unhappy about,” Mr. Salehuddin said. “He personalized injustice.”

Anwar for PM in 21 quotes

These are extracts from a 2-part piece in Malaysiakini entitled, Anwar's New Malaysia (Pt.1) and Can Anwar really lead and govern? (Pt.2).

This is not an attempt at creating a hagiographical extract of Anwar quotes. It is part of my attempt to have a more nuanced understanding of Anwar, the political leader in 2008.

Like any public person, Anwar can be viewed any which way. Demonise him, villify him, cast doubts, put him on a pedestal, prostrate yourself before him - but I prefer to begin by just looking at his spoken word that is on record.

After this, all of us can proceed to measure him by the principles, values and aspirations contained in these 21 quotations. Perhaps, by the variance in word and deed, can we best measure a political leader. Naturally, these are just 21 utterances out of countless ones. But we have to start from somewhere.

1. "Patriotism, and I will include here racial politics, is the last refuge of the scoundrel." (paraphrasing Dr Samuel Johnson)

2. "Malaysia has been stuck with an obsolete economic programme, which has led to the loss of competitiveness, the diminishing attractiveness of the nation for foreign investments, which is further worsened by the lack of transparency, accountability, and good governance. The answer to such a "malaise" is to embark on a New Malaysian Economic Agenda, based on market economic principles and driven by Malaysians working together to enhance economic competitiveness. All Malaysians must play a part and be part of this new direction."

3. "We need to promote growth, and that can only happen if we are seen to be a market-driven economy."

4. "Market growth is not a zero-sum game at the expense of the poor and the marginalized. But instead of a race-based affirmative action policy, what we should have is a needs-based policy. In doing so, the majority of the Malays will still be taken care of, and at the same time so too would the needy and marginalized among the other communities in the country, such as the Indian estate workers."

5. "Economic growth and competitiveness come hand-in-hand with good governance, the rule of law, and a free media. I do not believe that such an agenda is the concern of the present ruling establishment, although there have sometimes been some platitudes towards that direction from the establishment."

6. "It important to transform the nation and at the same time ensure that the transition is smooth and stable so as to garner hope for all Malaysians."

7. "I am a Malay. A very committed and concerned Malay. But I cannot see my relevance if I cannot think as a true Malaysian, and show enough concern for the welfare of all Malaysians."

8. "I am convinced that pursuing an obsolete agenda, including race-based politics will ultimately lead, not just to a breakdown of the social fabric, but will adversely affect the morale, confidence and resolve of the Malays."

9. "How many non-bumiputra can understand and appreciate the feelings of self-doubt that has been engendered by being told for two generations that you are not capable of standing up on your own two feet, that your achievements are not based on merit alone but on other more insidious factors? How terribly confidence-sapping it must be to have such thoughts always hovering in the background like a nagging doubt at the back of the head."

10. "I want to bring about that sense of confidence in the Malays through the New Economic Agenda. Now, at the same time, we would need - at first - to reassure the Malays that they would not be marginalized by it. And this is important because for the past 30 years, they have been subjected to incessant propaganda, which tells that without the NEP they would not be able to survive."

11. "How we view issues like religion, culture, language, and education is still important. Therefore within the Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Alliance - the combined Opposition forces in Malaysia) leadership, we have already spelt out a clear agenda. And this is based on the Constitution, where Islam is the religion of the Federation with guaranteed freedom of practice for other religions. Because Malaysia is a multi-religious nation, and we cannot have and should not have had high-handed and unjust incidents such as the demolishing of temples."

12. "As a developing nation," he said, "it is important to have a national language and everyone should be encouraged to be proficient in Bahasa Malaysia. But we should not do this at the expense of English."

13. "We should be committed to enhancing the proficiency of English in Malaysians because it is the international language of business and trade. Otherwise Malaysia will lose out in economic and human development. Take for example Indonesia and Thailand. Back in the 1960s, they were far inferior to Malaysia in terms of English proficiency. But today they are catching up and in some ways have even surpassed us."

14. "We need to have more serious efforts in the teaching of English in Malaysian schools. We cannot afford to continue on in the haphazard and directionless manner of today."

15. "I am an incorrigible optimist!".

16. "People said that it was impossible for the Barisan Nasional (BN - the ruling coalition in Malaysia) to be denied a two-thirds majority. They said it was impossible for three parties to work together in five states, but that’s happening despite them not receiving any support from the federal government."

17. "We are an emerging economy with a wealth of natural resources, and we are also a net exporter of petroleum. However, a Morgan Stanley report has stated that around RM300 billion has been lost due to corruption over the past 30 years. And PEMUDAH (the government-appointed task force commissioned to look at means of improving efficiency) has also made reference to the fact that RM10 billion is wasted a year from public funds."

18. "The country cannot afford to wait the next four to five years for a general election before the agenda for change is implemented."

19. "I was part of a generation that was seeking legitimacy and identity in the turbulent days of the 1970s when the country was in a state of flux - lacking vision and direction. And for a long time the political choice was to be either on the right-wing or the left-wing. So a group of us began to study and re-look at Islam’s position in the socio-political context. I am not going to deny that I was very Malay and Islam-oriented in my youth. But what has not been pointed out was that when I was the President of the Malaysian Youth Council, I worked closely with non-Malay and non-Muslim organisations. Also, growing up in my hometown in Penang meant that I had many non-Malay neighbours. So that was a very important experience."

20. "Clarity and transparency in policies, which will lead to the promotion of growth through free market economics. We will give incentives to attract business, and we will ensure that costs are open and aboveboard, and tenders are open-ended."

21. "I want to promise a new dawn for all Malaysians. We must have a sense of confidence and trust that this is a great country, which will be able to provide for all. (And in order for that to happen) We must demand changes in the system."