Anwar walks free in a nation 'liberated' by Mahathir
COMMENT | May 9, 2018. An empire collapsed.
The architects behind its expiration were none other than its most illustrious emperor, whom some regard as the living embodiment of Machiavellianism, and his trusted associate with a plentiful war chest, who prefers to operate in the shadows.
So when the recluse associate stepped into the limelight during the campaign period, those familiar with his prophetic abilities speculated that a new dawn was on the horizon...
COMMENT | May 9, 2018. An empire collapsed.
The architects behind its expiration were none other than its most illustrious emperor, whom some regard as the living embodiment of Machiavellianism, and his trusted associate with a plentiful war chest, who prefers to operate in the shadows.
So when the recluse associate stepped into the limelight during the campaign period, those familiar with his prophetic abilities speculated that a new dawn was on the horizon.
On that fateful night as the Election Commission struggled to find the words to describe an outcome, for which the script had not prepared them for, it became evident that the fourth prime minister had deposed the sixth prime minister, who is the son of the second prime minister, to return as the seventh prime minister.
With a combined age of 172, the Tuns' vast experience in the art of statecraft had outclassed their opponents who were inebriated with arrogance and confidence, as well as burdened with a mile-long list of glittering scandals, the scale of which stretched the limits of imagination.
However, this historic conquest would not have been possible if not for the anointed successor of both the fourth and seventh prime minister.
Anwar Ibrahim's tireless efforts, courage and personal sacrifices had laid the foundation for this unprecedented paradigm shift in the Malaysian political landscape.
He possessed the scrotal bravado to mount a rebellion when the emperor was at the peak of power with all the state apparatuses at his disposal.
For this, he and his loved ones paid a high price. But the then opposition benefitted from what could be considered the first prominent fissure in the empire's hitherto impregnable fortress.
Beaten, humiliated, imprisoned, Anwar refused to yield.
Those who had consigned him to the bin of political has-beens in 1998 discovered that unlike the emperor's other adversaries, this foe refused to retreat or play dead.
From the corridors of power to the streets
Without a moment's hesitation, Anwar discarded his tailor-made suits for casual clothes and hit the streets of Kuala Lumpur, bringing with him tens of thousands who braved the wrath of police batons and water cannons.
Though labelled a racist and religious fanatic when treading the corridors of power, he, however, surprised observers by forming a multiracial party when political common sense would have dictated the need for a Malay-based party as an alternative to Umno.
Following his first prison sentence, Anwar led the then opposition coalition to inflict a devastating blow on BN, its first in almost six decades.
This had ensured that the emperor's handpicked successor lost his job.
Five years later, Anwar inflicted another ruinous strike on the then ruling coalition, pushing it to the peripheries of the cliff. The emperor was once again not amused.
Anwar's continued presence at the political forefront proved to be a potent threat to the status quo.
And it so happened that another accusation surfaced, followed by another claim of political conspiracy, another court case and another round of imprisonment.
Clean slate for Mahathir
Three years later, the unimaginable has happened. Dr Mahathir Mohamad himself administered a lethal injection to a regime which he spearheaded and nurtured for more than two decades.
And now, Anwar returns to a land where Mahathir has transformed from dictator to liberator and from the object of vilification to adulation.
However, it was Anwar who had struggled for institutional reform two decades before Mahathir's name appeared in the same sentence as the word reform, at least on a positive note.
Hence, it is cardinal that the father of reformasi must ensure that the new government does not backpedal on its promise of good governance nor descend into crony capitalism and nepotism.
To cite a scene from Benicio Del Toro's magnificent celluloid documentation of the exploits of Che Guevara, the latter tells an ecstatic rebel soldier after the fall of Batista's regime, “The war is over. The revolution has just begun.”
As for Mahathir, the majority of Malaysians have embraced him with open arms, marvelling at the nonagenarian's pace in discharging his duties and rejoicing whenever he presses the right button.
Some, however, remain cautious due to his previous track record and sceptical over his expanded vocabulary, which now encompassed terms like reform, civil liberties, press freedom and space for dissent.
Malaysiakini, which was founded to challenge Mahathir's iron-fist rule and stranglehold on information, was among those that scrutinised his past prior to the election in order for the voters to make an informed choice when casting their ballots.
But on May 9, the people of Malaysia spoke loud and clear. So loud that an empire crumbled, and among the rubbles, lay the corpses of hundreds, if not thousands of political ambitions, with little hope of resurrection.
The people have decided to provide Mahathir with a clean slate and an opportunity for him to re-write his legacy by correcting the wrongs of the past.
He would now be judged and remembered for his words and deeds as the nation’s seventh prime minister.
RK ANAND is a member of the Malaysiakini Team.
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