Anwar? Nope

A few days ago, someone sent us an internet link to a video clip showing Anwar Ibrahim make some typically fiery speeches. He condemned the government in his usual effective and charismatic manner. His audience was largely ethnic Indians and the event was in Klang. His rousing call was for the Malays, Chinese and Indians to unite to throw out the present government.

Really? Does anyone really trust Anwar Ibrahim to abandon all preferential treatments for the Malay and really work for a truly equitable Malaysia? Why is it that he still sounded so convincing despite having been in government himself for so long? Anwar Ibrahim was a senior member of the BN government, a Deputy PM and a Finance Minister, no less. Under his watch, Islamisation and the Malay Agenda grew in prominence. In fact he championed these issues.

How can you fight for something so passionately for so long, only to abandon it and work in a completely opposite (for NEP) direction not too long after? He has been out of government for less than 10 years. He was in government for more than that – what- 15 years? He started championing his racist policies when he was probably the Education Minister, or perhaps earlier, when he was ABIM leader. He was a Deputy PM for what – 5 years? All through that time, he continued pushing his Islamisation programs and continued upholding preferential treatments for the Malays and added fuel to his racist and bigoted policies.

Sure, he has now called for the abolition of NEP. But he would now, wouldn’t he? He knows PKR is powerless and has nowhere near the electoral appeal, acceptance and presence of PAS or DAP. He certainly has no hope of matching his influence and power while in government as one of those UMNO goons many now deride. In fact many still see PKR as just another bunch of disaffected ex UMNO goons, all hoping to ride on Anwar’s coat tails to what they perceive as their rightful places to receive and dish out favours. Characters like Tian Chua are die-hard political activists anyway, who would much sooner attend a political rally than sit down and put his head down to work out a plan to improve or correct something which is wrong with the country. If I recall correctly, Nalla (like many before him) left when they realised who PKR really were.

Anwar knows he needs a cause, a platform, to again launch one of his numerous attempts to gain traction in the national political arena. What more prominent basis can he find than the NEP? Would he for example, openly declare that university opportunities, for intakes of students as well as for promotion and research grants for academic and administration staff, be equal for all races if he is elected? If he shies away from promising true equality, how can he expect a united front to “throw out the BN government”? Quid pro quo, as Hannibal liked to say. What can you do for me, Agent Starling? What can you do for the Chinese and Indians, Anwar? Nothing? Then why do you expect them to unite for your party?

Which brings one to a more basic question – is the PKR (or anyone in Opposition for that matter) – ready to form an alternative government? They do not even have a shadow cabinet. I suppose with the usual dirty tricks of the BN it is hardly a threat that they (BN) will lose their 2/3 majority, let alone lose government.
I mean one can imagine mysterious and fraudulent shipping of truckloads of votes to whichever constituency needing protection, deploy the police if need be to stifle protests, have the press report the matter any which way it pleases and appear the grateful victor of yet another mandate. The victims of systematic electoral fraud can wring their hands, clog up cyberspace with their chest thumping pieces in blogs and cyber media and lodge a few complaints with some obscure international agencies. At the end of the day BN retains government.

In that sense I suppose there is no real danger of the Opposition actually winning enough seats to throw out BN. In fact the rallying cry is to “deny BN 2/3 majority” and not to throw BN out. So Anwar’s call for Malays, Chinese and Indians to unite is a bit of a wank, if you pardon my French. Anwar was being Anwar – full of rhetoric. Charismatic maybe, but rhetorically so. He knows he cant form a government. So what made him say those things? Crowd pleasing, charismatic rhetorical orator – that’s Anwar Ibrahim.
It’s shocking but probably true – that the BN is expected to cheat in this forthcoming election, to ensure victory. The only ones who can prevent large scaled, systematic fraud are BN goons themselves and they use this in their internal fights. And there have been some serious internal fights. It has been rumoured for example, that Najib Razak is pulling all stops to make Badawi look bad and risk losing his parliamentary seat in Kepala Batas.

So notwithstanding very positive vibes on the ground (and in cyberspace) suggesting the Opposition has great traction this time around, no one is seriously contemplating defeat for the BN. The mood is probably positive enough to suggest there may be a threat to the 2/3 majority the BN has enjoyed for a very long time. Unless of course, BN pulls off its usual bag of tricks, which it will almost certainly do.
If the Opposition fare badly despite all the sentiments and it becomes clear that there is more than a hint of impropriety which caused this debacle, what does the future hold for Malaysia? What saving grace would there be to safeguard the integrity and indeed, the future of the country? Whence would deliverance come?

We have seen countries like Russia, Pakistan and the Philippines, where the people protested in very strong terms when they think they’ve been duped at the polling stations. They refused to be cheated repeatedly and made their discontent well known. Would that happen in Malaysia? Or is the fraudulent electoral practice a largely unnoticed matter amongst the larger masses and is therefore not strongly resisted? Perhaps then that is where the efforts of the campaigns should be focused on – to highlight, amongst these masses, the real potential for these frauds and to coax them to be extra vigilant in its prevention? Perhaps when the general unheard masses are clearly told of these malpractices of their government to date, then they can think about doing something about it.