YOURSAY | 'He is engineering something bigger that eventually will exclude Umno'

COMMENT | Is Anwar misreading the Malay mood?

Cogito Ergo Sum: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's advisers, read former ABIM (Malaysian Youth Movement) stakeholders, have an agenda of their own.

There are covert moves to foster closer ties with Perikatan Nasional/PAS at the expense of the DAP.

Anwar is confident, contrary to the writer’s perception, of retaining power in the next general election with his renewed friendship with his foes.

There is no love lost between Anwar and Umno as long as they ensure he stays in power till the 16th general elections, whereupon a new alignment of parties is set to take place.

No, Anwar has not misread the Malay mood. He is engineering something bigger that eventually will exclude Umno.

Kilimanjaro: Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's Umno may be an albatross around Anwar's neck but that alone may not be the reason for what is seen as his erratic ways.

There are others behind him and without their support, he may not be the prime minister today. Let time decipher that.

A friend once asked me what I thought of Anwar’s rise and fall during his early Reformasi days. Personally, I did not like him. To rephrase that, I did not trust him.

Since the days he was parachuted into Umno, his tone and behaviour appeared arrogant and both his Malay-centric and Islamisation policies meant many non-Malays became disfranchised overnight in government agencies.

I was reduced from being at the top to rock bottom. To earn that position in a “Malay” entity, it took hard work and merit. More than being Malay-centric, he appeared more and more self-centric.

How many of you remember his bulldozing ways on “The Carcosa” and there was this hotel (Majestic) near the old KTM (Train Station) that came under his sledgehammer.

His rapid Islamisation took many by surprise and he was relentless in his pursuit of power with practically little or no opposition, he “ousted” Ghaffar Baba" to eventually become the DPM.

That put him in direct conflict with former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. That’s when the truth started biting. Maybe he thought Umno was in his hands but when it mattered, the Umno Malays rallied behind Mahathir.

Najib Abdul Razak, who was then supposed to be an ardent supporter of Anwar, threw his lot behind Mahathir. Anwar’s world came crumbling down.

The crushing defeat and disgrace that followed destroyed everything that he had built up. He had almost nil support from Umno Malays as no one dared to go against Mahathir.

To whom did he decide to team up with after that? Lim Kit Siang of the DAP. Mahathir was relentless in downsizing Anwar and had no mercy towards his former Number 2 (deputy prime minister).

Then the world came to know about the “black-eye” incident of Anwar that came from a punch from a former inspector-general of police. That more or less turned the sympathy of many, me included, towards Anwar.

What I saw then and thereafter was the injustice meted out to a man for his political conviction. My mind completely ignored his arrogant and inconsiderate ways towards the non-Malays and even gave him the benefit of the doubt that he would become a changed man, despite his “injustices” to the non-Malays.

I left my job as my junior became my boss just because of his race. I earned my position but lost out because of Anwar’s policies leading to a grave injustice.

I never wavered in my support towards him and his spouse Dr Wan Aziziah Wan Ismail until he became the PM. But today, as things unfolded, I don’t trust him a cent.

To me, he is the same old Anwar, arrogant and greedy for power. And I know this too - he has been given a second chance to be a better human being but he seems to be overtaken by his political desires.

I was one of those who wrote many supportive comments in favour of Wan Azizah during her trying times against Mahathir and then PKR deputy president.

I have already written about his daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar whom I have supported as much as Anwar but then found out that behind that face she is as arrogant as her father.

Do you think the simple Malay folks of Permatang Pauh don’t know that? After all, they have supported the Anwar family for so long. I won’t cry if Wan Azizah and Anwar lose in the next elections.

It is a gift to have another chance at redemption but if you don’t put it to good use, then you have only yourself to blame.

Budak Kampung Madani: As usual, DAP is always made out to be the demon - damned if they do and damned if they don't.

DAP national chairperson Lim Guan Eng is no saint but he at least is keeping to DAP’s key electoral promises and is standing up for the Chinese community who voted them back into power.

The author’s comment with regard to income tax refunds irks me.

Refunding tax income made in excess quickly is plain common sense and is the right thing to do regardless of who is in power.

Does this mean the author will allow the Inland Revenue Board to keep any excess taxes he overpays? No rush. No need to refund. Keep the change. Does this make sense?

Rather, the focus of this story (and the author’s misguided attempt at demonising DAP yet again by placing blame on Lim and his actions whilst in government) should be on the massive corruption holes at the top that are sucking away the rakyat’s hard-earned money.

Besides Sarawak Report and Malaysiakini, who have the cajones to expose the corrupted top 1 percent in power right now that controls the fate of the other 99 percent and reveal the sources of their funding? That is a story worth subscribing to.

KK Voter: Lol, he is misreading both the Malay and “lain-lain” (others) mood. The cynics expect Pakatan Harapan supporters to continue voting for Harapan due to fear of the “Green Wave”.

They don’t realise that there are Harapan diehards and there are Harapan voters; they are not the same. Come GE16, he may be in for a nasty surprise if the current trajectory continues.

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