Anwar Ibrahim is no ordinary prisoner. Not because he was a deputy prime minister. Nor because millions in this country and around the world feel that he was unjustly tried.

Forget all that. They are not relevant in the matter of his refusal of medical treatment offered by the government. The fact remains that he is no ordinary prisoner.

No ordinary detainee has had the harrowing experience of having life almost beaten out of his bound body and blindfolded head by someone no less than the chief law enforcement officer of the country, in the innermost sanctum of law and order, Bukit Aman.

This occurred in spite of the glare of worldwide publicity soon after his unnecessarily over dramatic arrest by hooded armed men, whose very appearance reminded ordinary folks like me of those who normally are on the other side of the law.

This had happened in spite of the personal verbal assurance given by a high-ranking Bukit Aman officer to the detainee's wife during the arrest that he will not be harmed.

We vividly remember the pompous assertion by the culprit soon after he had bashed the detainee that he was in good condition.

We wondered over the cowardly and unprofessional silence of the examining government doctor who treated his wounds in the cell and we were shocked at how the system became the law unto itself.

We were shocked at the incredulity of the lame attempts to cover-up, especially the suggestion by a lady cabinet minister that the detainee could have self-inflicted his injuries by ramming his eyes against the cell doorknob!

And after all that, a slap on the wrist and it was business as usual. Like it was just one mad man's inculpable act of anger, and not the failing of a system that may be corrupt to the core.

Is it so difficult to understand why the prisoner now refuses to voluntarily submit his unconscious body to be handled by wage-earners within the same sphere of influence?

Suresh Gnasegarah does not understand why because he was never subjected to what this prisoner had gone through. Someone wrote that doctors are not murderers . Of course not. But there have been murderers who were doctors. And as a young law student, I was also told of the many things that judges and policemen were not. Look at what we have now.

We read of snatch theft victims suffering trauma, not wanting to leave the house. We read of rape victims suffering trauma, not wanting to deal with any man. Why is it not easy for us to accept that same simple reality in this case? Instead we confuse ourselves silly by judging this victim by the colour of his politics.

The so-called offer by the government is never an option to a victim of such a traumatic act which the government must bear some responsibility for. It is about time our government shows its moral accountability by recognising that this victim is no ordinary prisoner because of its own undoing.

For as long as this victim is unable to accede to the government's request for his consent to local medical treatment, the burden remains on its shoulders to continue to seek solutions in order to discharge its responsibilities. Not the other way round.

With a little bit of imagination and a lot of heart, this matter can be easily resolved. First, get the prisoner to be responsible for all costs, and second, get the host country to guarantee his appropriate behaviour and custody during treatment, and also his eventual return.

This is not unheard of in international protocol. Many are willing, judging by their expressions of sympathy of the prisoner's plight.

Should the government procrastinate, this prisoner may lose the use of his legs and even his life. If that happens, the government may spin it any which way, like always. But that will not erase the fact that, by then, he would already be a victim of cruel and usual punishment.

Courage emanates from belief in oneself. This prisoner has shown plenty of it. Others, in this sorry tale, choose to pass the buck.