As former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim loses yet another battle in his fight for justice, Malaysians will be wondering what will happen next. Malaysians have short memory but those who remember things well are apt to romanticise the past.

They have made Anwar into a modern martyr, a fighter against tyranny and freedom. They tend to ignore the real and tangible contributions of Anwar Ibrahim in his time as the deputy prime minister. Enough time has passed for history to judge a man by his actions.

Did Anwar fight against injustice, corruption and the ISA when he was DPM? What were his views regarding hudud (Islamic penal code) laws in Kelantan in 1993? His policies regarding secularism? His economic policies?

I do remember one economic policy he wanted to enact just before he got fired. Malaysia was facing an economic crisis. His plan was to subscribe to an International Monetary Fund reform plan that would basically apply neo-liberal economic principles to this country, supposedly to save it.

At that time many applauded the move to let IMF or World Bank help on the assumption that the bodies know best what to do. But now we know better. These organisations also have self-serving interests and not all their plans worked out well.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was right to reject any IMF move to manage our country's economy.

I agree that Anwar deserves a fair trial, at the very least, and perhaps a lot more. But let the record be set straight, let's not forget the facts while we remember the heros.