Messy meltdown of Malaysia’s messiah – Calvin Sankaran
Dec 28 – When PKR President Wan Azizah proclaimed the party’s Ketua Umum Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as a god’s gift to Malaysia, she certainly did not expect her words would backfire on her in such a humiliating fashion. After anointing and elevating her husband to such Olympian heights, it must have been hugely embarrassing for her to see the PM-wannabe come crashing down in such an unceremonious way after being exposed by WikiLeaks for some decidedly unsaintly deeds.
An Australian daily had reported that Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, the Singapore government and the Australian intelligence service, (ONA, Office of National Assessment) were convinced of Anwar’s guilt in the ongoing sodomy trials. It must have been deeply distressing for Anwar to learn that the Singapore government reportedly even had evidence the former DPM indeed had indulged in unnatural acts.
It is well known that many Malaysians, especially Malaysian Chinese, have the highest regard for the capabilities and viewpoints of both Lee Kuan Yew and the Singaporean government. Kuan Yew is revered as a living legend while the Singaporean government is acknowledged to be world class in terms of efficiency and capabilities.
As such, many Malaysians who previously had dismissed both Sodomy 1 and 2 as nothing more than sham trials and a political conspiracy to derail Anwar’s attempt to oust the incumbent Barisan Nasional (BN) from the seat of power, are now starting to revise their opinions.
This expose by WikiLeaks will indeed be a game changer for Malaysian politics not just for 2010 or 2011, but for many years to come. This means that Anwar Ibrahim’s dream of becoming the next prime minister has effectively been extinguished and his march to Putrajaya has turned into a hasty, panicky retreat.
In light of this shocking revelation, it is unlikely that many Malaysians would want to take the risk of voting for Anwar as it would result in the Singapore government having a strong leverage over him with its reported possession of evidence of Anwar’s wrongdoing. This also means that the Singaporeans would be able to dictate whatever terms they want Malaysia to comply with and hold the country to ransom economically and diplomatically, if Anwar becomes the PM.
The comical attempts at damage control by PKR’s Director of Strategy Tian Chua, a man better known for biting cops than effective PR management, has only served to make the party look intellectually obtuse and permanently stuck in denial and defensive mode.
Things would not have looked as bleak for Anwar had this been an isolated incident. But 2010 has been a truly annus horribilis for the ex-DPM. It is highly unlikely that Anwar would look back at 2010 with much affection or nostalgia.
This is a massive contrast to the highs of 2008 and 2009. From the moment Anwar was triumphantly re-elected as Member of Parliament and then as Opposition Leader, Pakatan, PKR and Anwar were on an unstoppable momentum and ascendancy. It looked as though Anwar was destined to be the Chief Executive of Malaysia, a position that he deeply covets.
However a series of scandals, illogical and self-serving decision-making and shockingly weak leadership, coupled with the elevation of Najib Razak as the new PM, heralded a sharp reversal of fortune. As PKR suffered setback after setback in by-elections and its lawmakers and leaders started to defect to BN, Anwar’s charisma passed its sell-by-date and exposed his inability to manage the party or even appear to be sounding or behaving rational at times.
The nadir for PKR came ironically when the party wanted to showcase its democratic credentials. Anwar’s grand plan of having a mass party election, supposedly the first in Southeast Asia, turned into a political own goal and made the party a global laughing stock, While the intention was noble, the outcome, however, was anything but as the party headed down the slippery slope to implosion and oblivion.
No other election in Malaysia’s history has been as blighted by scandal, allegations of bribery, mass manipulation, fist fights, vandalism and a complete disregard for and trampling of every principle of democracy. It short, the PKR election made a mockery of the electoral and democratic processes and only served to expose its own weaknesses.
It created chaos and disunity within the party, made respected leaders leave in disgust and alienated some of its most ardent civil society supporters and many neutral-minded Malaysians.
In the end, Anwar Ibrahim the Opposition Leader and the potential PM of Malaysia, did not even run in the elections but assumed the post of Ketua Umum, a post that neither the party’s constitution nor democratic principles allow.
With his wife as the president, his daughter one of the VPs and his trusted lieutenant the deputy president, PKR hardly looked like a poster child for a model democratic reform party but dangerously resembling dynastical parties in repressive nations such as North Korea.
Instead of being of a symbol of reform, PKR now resembles a giant Ponzi scheme while Anwar himself looks more Madoff than the Messiah we had hoped for.
The question in the minds of Malaysians is this: If Anwar can’t even manage his own family and party, can he be relied upon to manage the nation and steward it towards greater heights? To me, the answer, based on his track record, is a resounding “NO”.
* Calvin Sankaran reads The Malaysian Insider.
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