The Two Anwars
My sister said, "American politics is driven by personality, Malaysian politics is driven by gimmicks." Anwar is a big personality all right - but his career as an opposition leader has been one long string of gimmicks. Pakatan doesn't need him as a figurehead.-Hwa Shi-Hsia Posted: 11 Feb 09 : 10.37AM in the NutGraph
The Pakatan Rakyat is actually the embodiment of two Anwars.
The first Anwar is the man who says "anak Melayu, anak Cina, anak India, anak Dayak, anak Kadazan, anak saya". He vows to end poverty and ethnic divisions. His idealism may be traced back to his university years and is widely believed to have been rediscovered and reinvigorated after his six years in jail. This is Anwar the idealist.
The second Anwar is the man who was Mahathir's loyal lieutenant in the dark years of 1987 and 1988. Using money and the media, this Anwar ousted the late Tun Ghafar Baba in Umno. This Anwar orchestrated the downfall of Sabah's democratically-elected state government in 1994. This is also the man who hypnotised half the nation — including leading opinion leaders — with his 16 Sept 2008 scheme and who proposed the restoration of royal immunities. This is the man who has mastered and still plays the devil's game. If you like, this is the Machiavellian Anwar.
Anwar is the combination of two Anwars. 
Pakatan Rakyat's success has been built on the combination of these two Anwars. Without the first's idealistic vision, Pakatan Rakyat would not have won the hearts and minds of many. Without the second's devilish cunning, many would argue, Pakatan Rakyat would have already vanished by Umno's hand.
Pakatan Rakyat's success has been built on the combination of these two Anwars. Without the first's idealistic vision, Pakatan Rakyat would not have won the hearts and minds of many. Without the second's devilish cunning, many would argue, Pakatan Rakyat would have already vanished by Umno's hand.Perak is the battle between the Machiavellian Anwar and the BN's one-party state machine. The victory of Datuk Seri Najib Razak — the other arch Machiavellian, if you will — rightly angered and frightened many. At the time of writing, dominoes from Perak threaten to fall on Kedah and perhaps Selangor soon.
If Najib consolidates his gains, will Malaysia's third wave of democratisation — after near misses in 1990 and 1999 — be reversed back to pre-1999 levels? Even if the Machiavellian Anwar succeeds in playing the same game in Negeri Sembilan and later Putrajaya, will Malaysia really be free from Umno's dirty state craft? After all, this is the craft that Machiavellian Anwar learnt well from his long career in Umno.
Karpal is asking us to throw both Anwars out. I think we need to keep the appeal of Anwar the idealist. But we need to look for a clean, working replacement for the Machiavellian Anwar's means.
By Wong Chin Huat editor@thenutgraph.com. Read full article at the NutGraph.
