COMMENT | This is about the system, not Najib
So, who is in charge? Anwar? Zahid? Or are they all being manipulated by Najib from his control room at Kajang HQ?
– Mariam Mokhtar
COMMENT | It is not about who is in charge, but rather, who is conspiring with whom to maintain power and reshape the political landscape.
People forget that when Anwar Ibrahim was ejected from the Umno paradise, he changed everything. When the opposition denied Umno/BN its two-thirds majority, it demonstrated that people's power could overturn decades of political hegemony.
When the opposition assumed control of certain states, it sent shivers down the back of the Malay political establishment because it demonstrated that change was inevitable.
Najib Abdul Razak is not the first kleptocrat in this country. He is just the first Big Cheese who was caught. And the only reason why he was caught was because he lost an election and the machinery of government was controlled by the winners....
Hijacked Islam - who indeed Mr Anwar? By Farish Noor - Recollect this after September 11. Scholar Farish Noor wrote the response to Sheikh Madani's 'Who Hijacked Islam'. Having read the article entitled 'Who Hijacked Islam' (1) by none other than the ex-deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, this writer can only say that he agrees fully with the sentiments that were expressed by the author of the piece. Anwar was quite right to point out that te***orism has no basis in Islam and that traditional Islamic jurisprudence regards all acts of terror as an abomination and crime against humanity in general. The problem with Anwar's timely piece, however, is not so much the message but the messenger himself. If Anwar thought that being in jail means that he is now free to criticise the dictatorial regimes that litter the landscape of the Muslim world today, he has obviously overlooked the fact that many of us still remember his role as a supporter and ally to some of the very same regimes he now condemns with such righteous fervour. For was it not the same radical Islamist-turned-liberal Anwar Ibrahim who openly supported the revolutionary movement in Iran while parroting the slogans of the Iranian revolutionaries who then condemned the United States (and the West in general) as the 'Great Satan'? (The systematic extermination of thousands of secular intellectuals, unionists, activists and the Mujahideen by the revolutionary regime was something that many of their fans in other parts of the Muslim world turned a blind eye to soon after.) Was it not the same Anwar Ibrahim who was once honoured by the 'Islamic' dictator of Pakistan, General Zia 'ul Haq, for his services to Islam? Anwar was quite willing to accept such decorations, despite the fact that General Zia was himself a willing recipient of American military aid and he had used the radical Islamist movements to wipe out the secular opposition in Pakistan. (2) And was it not the very same Anwar Ibrahim - who today calls for a culture of tolerance and pluralism - who lead the Islamist activists as they 'cleaned out' the local university campuses of leftist students, 'secular' ideas and everything they regarded as un-Islamic in the 1970s? (With the help of such unlikely characters like Ibrahim Ali, one might add. Aren't we Malaysians spoilt for choice, when Sheikh Madani is riding the "Tiger", which will devour him and us. Think again.
Remember, Sheikh Madani made a courtesy on Ayajtollah Ruhollah Khomeini, when the Iranian Bahais were being slaughtered, along with others. He was then too steeped in radicalism. Remember the article he wrote about hijacking Islam after the Sept 11 attacks on the twin towers. Hijacked Islam - who indeed Mr Anwar? By Farish Noor - Recollect this after September 11. The problem with Anwar's timely piece, however, is not so much the message but the messenger himself. If Anwar thought that being in jail means that he is now free to criticise the dictatorial regimes that litter the landscape of the Muslim world today, he has obviously overlooked the fact that many of us still remember his role as a supporter and ally to some of the very same regimes he now condemns with such righteous fervour. For was it not the same radical Islamist-turned-liberal Anwar Ibrahim who openly supported the revolutionary movement in Iran while parroting the slogans of the Iranian revolutionaries who then condemned the United States (and the West in general) as the 'Great Satan'? (The systematic extermination of thousands of secular intellectuals, unionists, activists and the Mujahideen by the revolutionary regime was something that many of their fans in other parts of the Muslim world turned a blind eye to soon after.) He was riding the tiger and still is. Spoilt for choices, aren't we?