For five weeks, at 6pm every Wednesday, several 'Old Boys' and pupils who refuse to age, of the Malay College Kuala Kangsar [MCKK] and I carried out a ritual in the compound of Hospital Kuala Lumpur.

We chose Wednesday because the cabinet also met on that day. The Wednesday tradition is a tradition of the Malay College.

Our ritual was a simple one - we each attended, dressed in a jacket with our Malay College necktie, lined up, sang the Malay College song and finish off with the official MCKK shout. It took less than ten minutes to complete.

The ritual was carried out to show our solidarity with Anwar Ibrahim, also an MCKK alumnus.We only carried out the ritual for five Wednesdays, not for years as in the case of the Mothers of Plaza Mayo in Argentina.

Those mothers went to the Plaza Mayo because they wanted to find their children and their children's spouses who had been kidnapped by soldiers in the 1970s when Argentina was riled by a military regime.

Compared to the mothers' struggle, what the band of MCKK Old Boys were doing was just like eating ' kueh apam '.

Last Wednesday was the last time we carried out the ritual in front of the Hospital Kuala Lumpur. The next day, Anwar Ibrahim, who had been warded in the hospital, was freed by the Federal Court, and returned to his Damansara Heights home.

He was freed not because of several MCKK Old Boys, with their red, white, black and yellow neckties, who were brave enough to carry out their ritual in the hospital compound.

Nor was it because Abdullah Badawi panicked on hearing the thunderous MCKK shout. And it was not due to Anwar's hospital bill getting too high.

Anwar was freed because he was not guilty.

Rakyat's agenda

Those of us who went to the Hospital Kuala Lumpur actually did not have any blood relationship with Anwar. We were not former Umno members, nor were we Parti Keadilan Rakyat members, nor candidates in the last general elections. We were not hoping for contracts, were not former or prospective contract junkies, or hoping for Parti Keadilan Rakyat membership.

We were just alumni of the same school. But what was more important was that we were all reformists who supported the rakyat's agenda

To us, the rakyat's agenda is paramount - a stronger bond than the bond symbolised by our neckties.

We never attended any of Anwar's court hearings. Our ears did not have room to hear the words of the judge and prosecutor.

But most of us were present at every illegal gathering since the reformasi demonstrations started on Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman in 1998. These were all signs of our solidarity with the rakyat's struggle.

At the time when Anwar was freed last Thursday, I was actually sound asleep. I did not go to the courthouse. I knew that it was Anwar's final appeal.

At the same time, I was also aware that with strong rumours that Anwar may be freed, there would surely be more people who wanted to show their presence to Anwar and to be seen to be there.

The next morning, the telephone in my house did not cease ringing. But I have disciplined myself to only answer the telephone after 11am, after I have had my cup of coffee. Actually I am like a dracula who is allergic to the morning sun. If a revolution is supposed to start some morning, I will surely be late.

So I just let the phone ring unanswered. When there was too much ringing, I figured that there must be some good news about Anwar. As it turned out, I was right.

I saw five messages in my handphone. All of them were from MCKK Old Boys, with the good news. I then received a report via the phone from several young folks who were at the court.

Then I saw a clearer report on BBC. On the 1pm news clip, I could pick out several reformist faces well known to me. And around them were new faces, which I have seldom seen before.

Opening up the democratic space

Ah! It was a good sign. I wondered if the second phase of reformasi was about to begin.

That question often races around in my head, because I know that the rakyat's agenda - the struggle which I supported - is still far from accomplished.

To my friends and I in the reformasi movement, the freeing of Anwar Ibrahim was only a part of the struggle's agenda. To us, the early part of the struggle was to open the walls of the democratic space in our nation.

Tearing down the ramparts of autocracy and expanding widely the democratic space is crucial to the reformasi struggle.

After watching the news on BBC, there were unending phone calls from my friends. All of them wanted to remind me about 1998, and the beginning of reformasi.

Now, Anwar has been freed after six years in prison. Mahathir Mohamad aka Mahafiraun (mightiest pharaoh) is no longer prime minister.

But I felt as though the reformasi began just yesterday, and not six years ago. I am ready to go down to the streets in order to expand the democratic space.

When the phone calls abated, I thought back to something I wrote, in which I predicted what would take place if Anwar Ibrahim was freed.

To verify the accuracy of that prediction, I went to Bangsar Utama. I had to sit in a Bangsar Utama stall and observe the number of cars heading for Damansara Heights.

1998 all over again

My prediction proved most accurate. In the Maidin Restuarant in Bangsar Utama, the customers shook my hand and thanked me as if I was the judge who had freed Anwar.

Suddenly, without my asking, a customer brought my favourite drink. From that, I could sense that the reformasi movement was popular with the people, and the battleline was still accurate.

I watched the cars passing by Bangsar Utama. It was very easy to spot the cars of refomasi supporters. They did not hide it - there were stickers with Anwar's picture, anti-ISA stickers, Parti Keadilan Rakyat logos, boycott Utusan Melayu stickers, Press Freedom stickers, malaysiakini stickers, stickers with the crescent moon logo - all these were signs of friends and members of the reformasi movement.

Only the stickers which featured Nurul Izzah's image have become less valuable to young men now that the reformasi princess has married.

There were many cars of reformists heading towards Damansara Heights. To confirm the accuracy of my prediction, at eight that night, I drove to Damansara Heights myself. It was just like I had predicted - there were more and more cars on the roads around Anwar's home.

In the area near the mosque and the shops, there were rows of parked cars. Traffic police were directing vehicles on the increasingly congested roads

As I had predicted, the burger vendor had set up his stall right at the junction of Jalan Setia Murni, the road on which Anwar's house stands. Several mobile food stalls were well patronised. I also saw three Tionghua youths hawking the evening edition of a Chinese paper.

There were long lines of pedestrians heading towards Anwar's home. Ha ha ha! 1998 all over again.

I did not stay in Damansara Heights because had promised to meet the 'MCKK Wednesday ritual' gang in the city centre. Though we were far apart, we could still be updated with news of what was going on in Damansara Heights, thanks to mobile telephone technology.

Apple-polishing media?

In the city centre, I unintentionally came across the free special edition of the Star , which reported the freeing of Anwar.

I was also informed that the Nanyang Siang Pau had also printed a similar special edition. Wow! My shout was not because I was shocked, I have never been shocked by headlines.

I shouted wow because I was 'happy' to see the behaviour of the contract junkies, the cronies and apple-polishers surfacing once again.

Prior to that, I had been told that several businessmen and commissioned agents have already started racing to stake out strategic spots for themselves in Bukit Damansara.

The Kuala Lumpur stock exchange jump on the day Anwar was freed must surely have gladdened the hearts of those who only seek profits and ways to add to their nett worth.

Just consider how, for six years not a single newspaper, be it a Malay or even Chinese, truthfully reporting what happened to Anwar. Consider the words they used to describe the reformasi movement - every paper accused the reformasi movement of being trouble-makers.

Then, when Anwar was freed from prison, there were special editions. With pictures of Kak Wan dan Abang War (Wan Azizah and Anwar) smiling broadly splashed across the pages, bigger than the Mahafiraun's picture.

And given out for free. If that was not apple-polishing then we should honour them for their service to the people and the nation.

For sure we can see the MCA condom beside the Malay's pillow.

To be more certain, even though it was already midnight, I again drove to Damansara Heights. I saw all sorts of cars parked there. Long lines of people, some heading home, others heading towards Anwar's home.

As it was already late when I reached there, the political rhetoric mouthpieces had already retired to look for assam jawa juice to sooth their hoarse vocal cords.

I did not glimpse Anwar, probably because he had already retired to his bedroom. I was there to witness and read the political ambiance. I was most at ease to shake hands with reformasi friends there, who considered the freeing of Anwar as a reformasi achievement

Reformsists roamed the grounds of Anwar's home freely. That was a good sign to me. If I am mistaken, then that only happened on the first day, before the prospective candidates and those hoping for some political position started to elbow out the reformists, whom they consider as non-MP material. Perhaps.

Meet the boss

I was also told that several 'politikus' (political mice) have emerged. These politikus at one time loved to shoot down reformasi plans to demonstrate on the roads. Now, they have started to show their tails in Damansara Heights.

Several of them were even brave enough to spew their rhetoric openly while shouting reformasi slogans, hoping to be heard by Abang War and Kak Wan.

Alahai, perhaps I am just being too cynical. I should feel happy that the politikus have begun to fear the thousands of rakyat who have stormed the ramparts of autocracy. (Is this wishful notion true?)

Before I left Damansara Heights, I was also told that several Umno members, who were once ex-Umno, then ex-Keadilan, were wanting to meet 'their boss'.

Perhaps because their mobile telephone messages had been ignored, they had to thicken their skin and be present in Damansara Heights. Or what the comedians did, was a strategy of betting on every horse.

But the most exciting person to turn up in Damansara Heights on Thursday night was an MCKK Old Boy. This Si Mamat is a former cabinet minister. Only the Si Mamat was not brave enough to resign his position and support Anwar.

He loved his cabinet post too much. Then came the time when he began to be sidelined in Umno.

As a result Si Mamat threatened to leave Umno. Pretended to spread news of bribery. But that was just for a short spell.

Si Mamat, despite being an MCKK alumnus, was certainly not brave enough to join the Wednesday ritual in the Hospital Kuala Lumpur compund.

When asked why he was now brave enough to show up in Damansara Heights; why he only showed his face after failing to get an MP seat, Si Mamat answered, "I always supported Anwar, I loved him from afar."

Pooorah.

This is a translated version of a Bahasa Malaysia article which appeared on Friday.