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Does anyone know who Quang Duc was? He came to the world's notice way before many malaysiakini readers were born.

More than 35 years ago, Quang Duc's name blazed forth in dramatic fashion, when he immolated himself in Saigon. His tragic end shook the imagination and conscience of the world as they witnessed the Buddhist monk sitting in unbelievable serenity even as the flames consumed him.

Quang Duc committed that act as a protest against the religious persecution of the Buddhist majority in Vietnam by the Roman Catholic president, Ngo Dinh Diem.

His sacrifice was to have far reaching effects on the Ngo government. It galvanised the previously passive Vietnamese people into massive demonstrations, which eventually contributed to the downfall of Ngo.

The Quang Duc saga reminds me of the current maneuvers of Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar is determined to bring the issue of his medical condition to a head with the government. He is acutely aware that by creating a dramatic life-and-death case regarding his injuries, he may threaten the consequence of blood on the government's hands (in the form of his paralysis).

He believes he can embarrass the authorities into backing down, and releasing him.

He hopes that domestic as well as international sympathy and support for his medical predicament will eventually see him going abroad for treatment. From there, he may yet have a chance to wage a political fight in exile, until his aspired return in triumph.

Accepting local treatment, no matter how qualified the medical experts may be, does not fit into his go-for-broke strategy. He is prepared to suffer the consequences of paraplegia or even dying if the options he wants do not materialise.

The incarceration of Anwar Ibrahim has become an attractive rallying point for the anti- government forces. Their unifying cause has been the fight for his freedom.

Such was his drawing card status in the immediate aftermath of his imprisonment that even PAS offered him the post of prime minister should the Barisan Alternatif come to power, to capitalise on his charisma.

Just as he became the magnetic pole for the opposition and anti-establishment forces, the former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, became the focus of their offensive intent.

But in the end, when one derives everything down to its core essentials, one becomes uncomfortably aware that it has been Mahathir who was the real target. Except for his own family, Anwar Ibrahim has just been a convenient tool to bash the former prime minister.

Even as the Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang fights relentlessly for Anwar's release, many remember that when Lim himself was detained by the authorities under the Internal Security Act, Anwar enjoyed high ministerial office of government, and the vice-presidency of the powerful Umno.

Even as his supporters attempt to portray Anwar as a political reformer, others recall him as the deputy prime minister from the oppressive establishment.

Did his conviction result from a manufactured case of unspeakable crime? His supporters cried out in the affirmative while his detractors sneered at his evil and clumsy misuse of powers.

But all those who want to embarrass the government - or to raise issues with the Malaysian judicial system - see opportunities to do so in Anwar's campaign throughout his detention, especially his hell-bent-for-leather attitude for his medical treatment overseas.

But his nemesis, Mahathir, has gone from the scene, thus robbing them of a motivating factor for their combined anger and dissatisfaction. Many of Anwar's erstwhile supporters have realised the Anwar-inspired reformation movement has now become somewhat deflated.

Poor Anwar is mentioned less and less every day.

He realises this, and therefore that his medical condition remains the sole post for his last stand. He fears history will pass him by, with his future release from prison only producing an old and politically powerless man.

This has to be his final gambit, a slim chance to grasp at the straw of political survival. If push comes to shove, he is prepared to cross the Rubicon and become the Malaysian Quang Duc, sacrificing his body to cause turmoil for his enemies.

But Anwar Ibrahim should remember that though Quang Duc - in shaking up the world and causing the fall of a government - did more than Anwar himself could possibly imagine, today Duc is just a faint footnote on the pages of history to be resurrected perhaps once in several decades by no one in particular.

But there is a redeeming light. Anwar should remember that while the cruel pragmatic world slowly forgets and ignores him, his family has not.

Unlike others, they still love and want him. They will undoubtedly be waiting for him. For this reason, Anwar should not gamble his body or life away. He should save himself for them and not become an unnecessary and fleeting tragedy.

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