I received your letter dated March 13 addressed to my mother. In that letter, you expressed with all humility that the responsibility of a leader is not only assessed by the rakyat at large, but more than that, also by Allah SWT. You acknowledged that if you should fail in that responsibility, you will carry a heavy burden in akhirat.

It is unfortunate that your letter arrived four years too late as my mother passed away in 1999 at the age of 80. If she had been around, I have no doubt she would have been very proud of you today. And so would my cousin who lived in Kepala Batas but passed away 19 months ago. They both would not have hesitated to put the cross against the 'dacing' on Sunday. Malaysians have overwhelmingly given you the mandate to lead the country to greater heights of achievement as you have promised.

I do not have a tabulation of the total number of electorates who came out to vote, and exactly how many of those crossed against the 'dacing'. However, I do know that 21,737 of Malaysian electorates voted for Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in Permatang Pauh. I do not believe they wanted a stronger representation in parliament or that they opposed BN.

These are the people who chose to remind you, Pak Lah, as a leader, that Dr Wan Azizah's husband deserves to be given medical treatment of his choice. They have prayed to Allah SWT to ease Anwar's suffering and to open up the heart of a Muslimin to make it possible. And now, they have asked you, through the ballot boxes, to hear their prayers.

At the very least, you have two choices. One, you can rejoice in your electoral victory and reiterate that Anwar is already getting the best medical treatment and attention available in Malaysia and does not need to be released to seek medical treatment overseas. Two, you can be gracious to Allah SWT for the electoral victory and exercise the empowerment in the manner you would want to be assessed in akhirat and decide what is good for Anwar.

You are now a leader in the eyes of Allah SWT, with a heavy responsibility. Please do not turn that responsibility here on earth into a burden in akhirat when you have to account for all your actions.