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LETTER | I was an eight-year-old innocent boy in 1998 when the chant "reformasi" was loudly shouted in the city of Kuala Lumpur.

It was like a mega-concert.

As a small kid who understood nothing about politics, I initially thought that it was a special assembly organised by the government as I saw a prominent government man with a microphone standing next to his wife.

The crowds were big.

"Mak, who's that standing man? He looks familiar," I asked my mother.

"He's Anwar Ibrahim. He deputised our prime minister. But he's no longer in the government," my mother replied as her both eyes focused on the TV.

I digested nothing except the name of the man.

Sinless kids like me would have thought that it must be the last day of Uncle Anwar as a government official. That's why he called all of the people to gather and “celebrate” his final day.

Well, that's how an innocent kid viewed things.

Today, after the historical 14th election, a new scene with the same actor is screened to new “viewers”. "Anwar Ibrahim" is everywhere on the social media.

The world talks about him. Every finger “says” his name. "DSAI is finally free!" a tweet says.

This rainy evening, when I was watching Anwar's special interview with Astro Awani, my heart almost stops beating. "Is this for real?"

I believe most of sane Malaysians including me can't believe that the man who had been “ardently” hated by the previous regime can now breath in the fresh air of the reborn Malaysia.

The old Anwar speeches are being played in our minds like those old songs of Michael Jackson - a man with magical oratory. Words of his are bold. Voices of his are loud. Like Jackson's moonwalk dance, his speeches attract every eye and soul.

As everyone is now celebrating a new day for Anwar, I'm imagining one thing that I, as a newly-married man now, wish to experience: "Who's that uncle, Papa?" my five-year-old daughter asks me as she sees Anwar Ibrahim mobbed by reporters on TV.

"He's the Father of Reformasi," I smile.


The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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