In MGG Pillai's latest column , he has expressed his personal concern about Malaysia's 'arthritic' political parties and the electoral monopoly of the Barisan Nasional government.

He said that '... politics in Malaysia has moved away, in five decades, from principle and ideas, to sycophantic follow-the-leader. Nothing else matters.'

But as an Umno member for the past few decades, I am convinced that Malaysia has politically matured with capable political leadership that has guaranteed the success of parliamentary democracy since our independence.

At least our parliamentarians do not throw chairs and fight with each other in Parliament as in some other countries in the region. Malaysians should be thankful that the BN government has given us decades of political, economic and social security and stability that few newly independent countries could have achieved without any bloodshed.

In his column, Pillai also pre-empted that the re-emergence of Anwar Ibrahim in the Malaysian political scene would have a significant impact on Umno. Pillai has insinuated and implied that Umno would be politically threatened, especially within the present leadership led by by party president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Najib Razak.

On the contrary, I believe that Umno will continue to remain strong and relevant to the political ideology of BN to lead the government - with or without Anwar. (Anwar has openly stated that he is no longer interested to jump back onto the bandwagon).

If politics remain in the blood of Anwar who has been in the political wilderness for the last few years, then I believe he stands a good chance of returning to the mainstream of politics of his choice provided that his credibility has not tarnished by his own doings of the past.

Having read that Anwar will be back in Malaysia by the end of October, in time to celebrate Hari Raya Idil Fitri with his family, friends and relatives, and perhaps embark on a long wish list of agendas, I urge the government to allow his supporters to give a warm welcome to this charismatic political leader.

The government should not be afraid of the magnitude of the crowd that could turn as long as it does not turn into another reformasi gathering with no respect for public security. I am sure the government will not compromise on this issue if no assurance of a peaceful gathering is secured from the organisers beforehand.

Finally, I am also optimistic that given the strong international support for Anwar, the international community, especially the Islamic world, would come forward to seek his help in resolving global issues, including the emergence of terrorism that has threatened our civilisation.

Malaysia will be proud of Anwar's achievement if he could be an international peacebroker and make our world a safer place for us to live in. Perhaps, Anwar could be considered for the post of secretary-general of the United Nations or of the Organisation of Islamic Conference if he is still remains relevant over the next few years.

May we continue to live in peace and tranquillity.