Dear Saudara Anwar Ibrahim,

The rakyat were with you on the day of your sacking and remained with you through the six cruel years of your incarceration. We watched your children grow and we fought alongside your wife, refusing to let the government forget you.

We are not Malay, we are not Chinese nor Indian. We stood by you as Rakyat Malaysia, believing in not just racial tolerance but racial unity. We, Malaysians who believed in the rule of law and the sacredness of the constitution; in short a civil society.

Your incarceration and the ensuing court cases gave you credibility and a standing not only among the Malays but among all Malaysians who respect your values, principles and integrity. This is sadly lacking in our leaders today.

It is rare for one to be willing to suffer and give up his freedom for what he truly believes in. Perhaps only a handful in every generation. Now that you are a free man, your values and your principles stand out and are known by all within Malaysia and also internationally as you perform your overseas assignments at Oxford and at John Hopkins.

Saudara Anwar, the nation is - and has been - in dire straits. Corruption is not getting better, racial integration has not improved. In fact, Umno Youth, at the recent party general assembly, called for the NEP to be revived.

If the bumiputeras have not caught up after 30 years, whose fault is it if not the Barisan Nasional's? In fact, the problem is that 80 percent of the wealth perhaps lies only with the top 10 percent of Malays otherwise known as the Umnoputeras.

There is little or no talk at all about the bumiputeras who live below or on the poverty line. Each time a political leader or a civil servant takes, siphons or re-channels money to his own pocket, the rakyat suffers. The nation suffers. Instead of focusing on eradicating poverty amongst all the races, energy is spent on dividing the nation further.

Parliament debates issues that are irrelevant and often childish. It has been made out to be a mere rubber stamp and has lost its role as an institution to provide a check and balance to the ruling government.

Saudara Anwar, if we hear you correctly, Parti Keadilan Rakyat, the platform on which you stand on, will represent all the races equally. If so, then it shall have a place in the hearts of all Malaysians.

We hope that with your experience in government and your principled leadership, Malaysians will be able to return to the international arena as competitive nation and yet be known as people of integrity and character.

'They' have challenged you and have most recently called you fake, artificial and not a serious politician. But we, the rakyat await the moment ...