I would like to give a differing view to the two letters Let's not romanticise the past and Anwar saga in perspective.

Yes, former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim was very much part of the Umno/Barisan Nasional corrupt machinery for the 16 years he rose from a leader of the Youth wing to the pinnacle of being a deputy prime minister of the country. At that time I was personally strongly critical of him and his actions.

Yet whatever Anwar's crime was, he deserved a fair trial, which he certainly did not receive. Even rapists and robbers deserve to be tried fairly; yet the executive made no qualms about removing any semblance of independence to the judiciary, that led to the final dismissal of his appeal on Wednesday.

The Anwar saga is much more than about Anwar himself. With this precedent in judiciary interference, each and every one of us is at risk of one day landing in our country's kangaroo court and receiving an unfair trial.

We may say that Anwar deserved this, for all his years in the establishment. But the rape of the judicial institution is something that our country certainly does not deserve.

If, God willing, the paradox is reversed one day and Anwar succeeds in becoming prime minister while Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is brought to trial, I would stand by Mahathir's right to a fair trial and be punished accordingly, without any interference in the process whatsoever. A nation that delivers justice selectively is a nation damned.

Not only that, prisoners, under well-defined international laws and social norms deserve to receive medical treatment when needed. But the establishment bears such animosity to Anwar that he is barred from undergoing surgery, leaving him almost totally wheelchair bound.

This illustration of personal vendetta against a man behind bars speaks loudly on the compassion of our leaders.

We should not let our prejudices on Anwar's past bar us from being humane and just. Our blinkers will allow the all-powerful state to completely control all state institutions, leaving us at their mercy.

Our children deserve a better Malaysia.