It has been almost six years since Anwar Ibrahim has been in jail. Two things stick to my mind when thinking of this fact. Firstly, how quickly time passes and secondly, how I miss the times when Anwar was in our political life.

Certainly, Anwar is a giant in the history of Malaysian politics. It was really wonderful to see the 'if not brilliant, certainly exciting tandem' of Mahathir-Anwar in their element and at the top the game only a few years back.

Well, enough of the sentiments. The reason why I'm writing this letter is to give some gentle advice to both Anwar and his wife Wan Azizah.

To Wan Azizah, I would like ask her to stop meeting foreign officials supposedly expressing their concern over Anwar. I am not a legal expert, but I myself admit that I was not comfortable with the way Justice Augustine Paul conducted Anwar's trial.

Even if Anwar and his family feel that they have been wronged by our judiciary, I still believe it is not an excuse for them to give outsiders an opportunity to intervene in our domestic problems, even on a small scale.

Perhaps some of the foreign officials do genuinely sympathise with Anwar. However, like I said earlier, Anwar is a giant of Malaysian politics and things can be very different than what they seem.

Perhaps some might consider me paranoid of outsiders but the reality is, we are living in a world today where one 'perfect' country can invade another country to 'liberate' the people of the latter. Perhaps Malaysia will not be invaded over this issue but I say why be cannon fodder? Why help others disparage our country?

Anwar Ibrahim is a Malaysian issue and Malaysians alone should deal with it. Perhaps Wan Azizah would then say that she has tried her best to deal with this issue internally but it has come to nothing.

If (that's a big if) indeed Anwar is wronged, then his issue is part of our evolution of becoming a stronger, democratic society. No effort goes to nothing. Only Malaysians should resolve this peacefully. We have to figure this out on our own not outsiders.

And to Anwar, I want to say please get your back surgery done immediately.

From my understanding, Malaysia's previous administration had agreed to allow any surgeon in the world to come to Malaysia and operate on Anwar. They went as far as to say they would even provide an operating facility to the specifications of any foreign doctor willing to operate on Anwar in Malaysia.

It is a matter of fact that Anwar's preferred doctor at the AlphaKlinik in Germany refused these generous terms. He insisted on bringing Anwar to Germany. Of course, the Malaysian government did not agree to let him fly to Germany.

I find it exceedingly hard to believe that the good doctor at the AlphaKlinik is the only one able to perform endoscopic surgery on Anwar's back. Perhaps there is an excellent doctor in England, US or even in Malaysia able and willing to operate on Anwar in Malaysia.

Certainly this alternative is much better than letting his condition deteriorate and harming himself. I am voicing this because I read recently that Anwar's condition is worsening. His kidneys are not functioning well and there is a chance he might not walk and so on.

I was taught by my family that as a human being, we should always try for the best but we must accept the fact we might not always get what we want or hope for. If the first choice is not available, we go to the second best, then the third-best and so on.

Anwar's all or nothing attitude is very troubling indeed. I understand that Anwar probably thinks that he is on a mission against an evil force or something, so he must stand his ground. That I understand, but as a Muslim may I remind Anwar that we must always try to take care of our health as best as we can. Our physical body is a gift from God.

Whether Anwar is guilty or not, I humbly realise that he and his family are going through a very difficult time. I just pray that over time, things will get better for them. I would like to sincerely apologise if my two-cent worth of thoughts have in any way hurt the feelings of any member of Anwar's family. This is just a sincere advice from a man who is neither powerful nor important.