Pray for Malaysia

The country was shocked by two incidents within less than 20 hours. PKR adviser Datuk Seri
Anwar Ibrahim was ound !uilty o sodomy and a "alaysia Airlines li!ht has !one missin!.
The saety o the 2#$ %assen!ers and crew on board has very much worried "alaysians.
At this moment& the %olitical outlook& as well as the social and %sycholo!ical trauma are
severe tests or "alaysia.
Anwar also lost his candidacy in the Ka'an! by(election ollowin! the court)s decision. *e is
acin! a ive(year im%risonment and it is tantamount to castin! a neutron bomb to the
%olitical arena& which would not only aect the by(election and the Selan!or menteri besar
candidate layout& but also brin! a !reat im%act to the "alaysian %olitics.
Ater the court announced the verdict& many %eo%le could not hel% but was shocked by it& as
i they had !one back to the day +, years a!o& when Anwar was arrested.
-hat ha%%ened +, years a!o mi!ht not have included in the %lan o ormer Prime "inister)s
Tun Dr "ahathir "ohamad. The wish mi!ht be to end Anwar)s %olitical lie as soon as
%ossible& end the conrontation& so that the stron!man %olitics could be restored.
*owever& that day has not %assed but continued even until today. It has motivated Anwar and
i!nited the Reormasi movement& resultin! in the lon!(run stru!!le between the ./ and
Pakatan Rakyat.
The stru!!le has led to the establishment o PKR& as well as Pakatan Rakyat& while takin! a
bi! ste% in %ractisin! the cross(racial %olitical model. In the civil society& it has also ins%ired
the %eo%le)s %olitical awareness. "any %eo%le started to doubt and o%%ose to the one(%arty
dominance system. The %eo%le have been oered another o%tion& which !ave rise to the two(
%arty system movement.
Anwar has been a real leader& as well as a s%iritual icon rom +$00 to 20+1. In %articular& he
had %layed the roles o !atherin! consensus and uelin! in the 2000 and 20+# !eneral
elections.
The stru!!le between two %olitical !rou%s has !iven birth to healthy com%etitions in %olitics.
The ./ has also dro%%ed some %arts o its bi! brother mentality and chan!ed into sot
attitudes while makin! some ad'ustment to %olices& to i!ht or the su%%ort o the %eo%le&
%articularly "alays.
*owever& the stru!!le also seems to have almost reached a critical %oint. In the 20+# !eneral
election& the ./ won the rulin! %ower but not the %o%ular votes. Ten months later& the PKR
created a by(election to %ave the way o makin! Anwar the Selan!or menteri besar& as an
eort to march towards Putra'aya rom the state.
Precisely at this very moment& the sodomy case that has lon! shrouded came to a decision.
*istory seems to re%eat itsel +, years later. -here would it lead "alaysia to2
The PKR wishes to re%eat the mode and launch the Reormasi 2.0. Some %arty leaders
believe that they have to achieve the !oal throu!h street movements. 3 course& it is not yet
an oicial %olicy o the %arty and has not been acce%ted or su%%orted by other com%onent
%arties o Pakatan Rakyat.
The Reormasi movement at that time was illed with indi!nity. Today& however& most o the
then activists have %robably turned middle a!ed. They have walked %assed the u%s and downs
in %olitics& as well as the era o sadness.
The new !eneration today had not even attended %rimary school durin! the Reormasi
movement at that time and thus& they have no e4%erience in it. They have also !ot used to the
stru!!le between the two %olitical !rou%s and thus& the im%act o any incidents on them
would not be as intense as on the %ast !eneration.
The court verdict will certainly arouse indi!nation o Anwar)s su%%orters and !ain him much
sym%athy rom swin! voters. Re!ardless o who is !oin! to contest in the Ka'an! by(election
as a PKR candidate& he or she is e4%ected to easily deeat the ./.
*owever& Anwar)s %lan to enter Shah Alam seems to have come to nothin! and everythin!
has returned to the s5uare one. The PKR)s strate!y to march towards Putra'aya rom Selan!or
has suered a setback.
3verall& Anwar and Pakatan Rakyat could win more sym%athy and its %olitical stru!!le could
!ain more attention.
As or the ./)s wish to coo%erate with Pakatan Rakyat to %romote national reconciliation& it
seems to have turned out as a stillborn %lan. It is not a !ood thin! or the current trend o
%olitical and reli!ious %olarisation.
So ar& the whereabouts o the "*#60 remains unknown and all I ho%e is a miracle that
everyone on board is sae.
At this moment& no one knows the truth and it is not necessary to make s%eculation and
accusations. Instead o %artisan& racial and reli!ious dierences& what is needed now is
em%athy and com%assion& as well as %rayer and the e4%ression o concern.
This is a diicult sta!e& as well as the time or unity and mutual su%%ort.