Lensa Anak Muda Malaysia (Lensa) coordinator Ekhsan Bukharee has clarified that his urging for opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to retire was merely a sarcastic one, to start people thinking.

“Yes, it was a sarcastic letter,” he told Malaysiakini .

He said the call, which was written in an open letter addressed to Anwar, had several objectives.

Ekhsan ( left ) explained that it was aimed at making Pakatan Rakyat "realise" that this was the sentiment of young Malaysians out there; of those who are outside of Pakatan as well as those who support it, that they felt maybe it was time Anwar should quit.

He said that this is especially so after the Selangor menteri besar crisis where the perception of the young had to some extent changed.

He also claimed that the letter was meant to prod the young to re-evaluate what has happened to Anwar as well as the country’s judicial system.

“Most young people only take into account what the media says before they boycott something.

“They should instead evaluate and not simply judge something or someone without knowing,” he said.

Ekhsan in a statement on Friday, ‘urged’ Anwar to ‘retire’, saying that the people are ‘tired’ of him.

He had said that the people will not go to the streets if the Permatang Pauh MP gets imprisoned as it was not the 1998/1999 reformasi era any longer.

Anwar's final appeal against his sodomy conviction is slated to be heard by the Federal Court on Oct 28 and 29.