For six turbulent years the judiciary was looked upon as 'spineless'. So, by the verdict of not guilty rendered by the Federal Court in the recent Anwar Ibrahim appeal, the judiciary has been given a new lease of life and, as a bastion of the country's conscience, has put us back on the trail of judicial independence and integrity.

At least for now we can absolve ourselves of the catastrophe of being regarded as a 'pariah' amongst civil nations.

For the past six years, the country, especially the Malay heartland, was in a tumultuous situation as its most illustrious son of the soil was incarcerated as a result of calumniation and vilification, purportedly orchestrated by the Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

There were unprecedented trumped-up charges, the likes of which Malaysia had never witnessed before. It blemished the nation's proud history of dispensing justice without fear or favour.

Before the eyes of every caring and cultured Malaysian, Anwar was maligned with horrendous accusations that were so nauseating, so stinking to the core, that the aftermath of it elicited nationwide shame.

Anwar is now exculpated. Mahathir, who is now irrelevant, is still arduously defiant. It only reminds me of Tunku Abdul Rahman's comment that his upbringing made him such, in his interview with the late K Das.

As Tom Plate said in an article that appeared in Straits Times recently, not being born from royal or aristocrat family perhaps makes Mahithir paranoid, though he may be brilliant at times.

As an ordinary citizen of this country, the release of Anwar was received with great expectation. As an individual, his exoneration compelled me to tears, not just out of sympathy, but also hope. This is the only person at the moment who has the political will, to bring us back to the civil society that Mahathir destroyed.

This nation had been cleaved asunder. It is now time for national healing. We should forgive, but never forget, so that we do not make the same mistakes in the future This nation should look towards integrity, where executive, legislative and judiciary are truly independent of each other.

Good governance must be the order, not the exception, of the day. Those who have stolen from the rakyat coffers must give it back. Corrupt officials must be punished through the process of the law.

The Anti-Corruption Agency should be answerable to the parliament, not the prime minister. The ISA detainees should be charged in the open court or released. The whole nation must be reminded that the Anwar-like episodes should never be set forth again.

From the feeling on the street, one gets the feeling that the nation finally heaved a sigh of relief. The ordinary people feel that Anwar's right has been restored.

Will Mahathir begin to feel a chill down in his spine?