On the cover of Lutfi Othman's latest pro-opposition publication Forum is a photo of Anwar Ibrahim's three pretty daughters sifting through the 5,000 or so greeting cards that their daddy receives every month from around the world and sampling of these messages of support are shown on page eight.

Even when complete strangers in far flung places like Marspoortitr in the Netherlands, Cincinnati and Pusan could still come under Anwar's spell when the man is serving his sentence in Sungai Buloh, what chance could Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor have? And by the same token, Azmin Ali, Khalid Jaafar and the recently deceased Ahmad Mohamed? They were all Anwar's secretaries in his last posts in the party and the government up to Sept 2, 1998.

For those who were present at Keadilan's naissance at the Renaissance, when Ezam first spoke in public after his return from a self-imposed exile, the crowd was awe-struck that not only did he speak like Anwar, but even his voice has the uncanny resemblance with that of his boss.

The hero-worship of Anwar is the central theme of a recent review of Rozaid Abdul Rahman's book Di sini Aku Berdiri by an esteemed [#1]fellow columnist[/#].

Reading through the article one could discern two distinct parts, one a critique of the book itself and the other a scathing put-down on its subjects, Ezam, the reformasi movement and his handsome boss. One could sense that this would be forthcoming after the trilogy that began with "A phantom menace".

A disappointment

I have no disagreement in the criticism of the book itself. I wondered what prompted Rozaid to write the book at such an early stage of Ezam's career, when Keadilan was not even born yet. According to the reviewer, Rozaid is blowing the trumpet at the behest of Ezam.

From the back cover of the book, Rozaid seemed like a very seasoned journalist, starting out as a rookie at 19 with Utusan Malaysia and went on to become its news editor at 28. He has covered important events in the region and been involved in a controversy when the Sultan of Johor was the Agong in 1985.

But his book on Ezam is a disappointment as far as biographies go. He idolises Ezam and heaps praises on his subject like a star-struck adoring fan rather than an experienced journalist. But I can partly understand Rozaid's difficulty. When the political crisis exploded, Ezam was all of 31 years, and until then he was only a small player in Umno politics in the confines of the shadow of his charismatic boss.

Hence we are presented with details that are not of much interest like his sporting prowess in high school and his time at UIA (International Islamic University, Malaysia) which was hardly beyond the pale of the ordinary. But readers will gain some insight about Ezam's background, that he comes from a working-class family unlike his nemesis in Umno.

It is also interesting to note that despite his parents' active involvement in Umno at branch level, he had a great disdain for party politics, specifically Umno, until he met his mentor. He was sufficiently impressed that Anwar has the vision and the desire to reinvent Umno, to purge it of it excesses, its feudal culture and money politics.

If Rozaid's book is all praises, hyperbole and idolisation of Ezam, Farish's article is the opposite - it denigrates and belittles Ezam and the reformasi movement. According to Farish, Ezam is nothing more than a hero-worshipper of Anwar, unprincipled and ignorant.

No one would disagree that Ezam and company need criticisms especially of the constructive variety and constant reminders so that they will not commit the same error as when they were in Umno. But unfair and biassed criticisms are something else.

And Ezam certainly does not need anyone to defend him. The support and trust that he commands among the younger generation of Malaysians is evident wherever he goes, to the chagrin of his hostile followers and irritation of his former colleagues in Umno. But I can't help giving my own perspective on this promising young leader.

Harsh words

Back to the book. Chapter 13 recounted the scene at Anwar's official residence in the evening of Sept 2. They gathered for Maghrib prayers, among the supporters, students, academicians were his friends in Umno - Afifudin Omar, Fauzi Abdul Rahman, Ruhanie Ahmad, Abu Zahar Ujang (Kuala Pilah MP), Husni Hanzalah (Tambun MP), Fuad Hassan, Abdul Latif Mirasa and Dr Nungsari Ahmad Radzi.

Later in the evening Muhyiddin Yassin arrived and embraced Anwar to loud cheers from the gathered crowd. However, these senior men in Umno soon abandoned Anwar and some even spoke against him, leaving his young, loyal supporters like Ezam and company to carry on the fight. And everybody knows it has not been an easy one, pitting their small numbers and meagre resources against the might of the government machinery, the media and the police.

The reviewer wrote, "It is distressing to see just how quick newcomers to the Malaysian political scene can learn the same rotten old rules of the rotten old game ... what is worse, in the process of learning the same old rules they also seem to have committed themselves to the same old mistakes... Sadly, those who claim to want to reform this system seem to end up playing the same game themselves and in the end become the very thing they want to eradicate...". I wonder what was the reviewer's basis for such harsh words, without even bothering to cite an example.

Ezam and his friends are still young. Yes, perhaps they were involved in the dirty media campaign against Ghafar Baba during the 1993 party elections. And yes, some of them were part of the Pemuda BN group that broke up Apcet II meeting in a Chow Kit hotel.

It took great courage for one of them, now the new Lunas state assemblyman, to admit his past errors in public. But I am willing to accept that every human soul is capable of reflection, repentance and redemption.

But who says that the struggle to loosen the grip of the old politics of Umno-BN belongs to Ezam and Anwar's young loyal supporters alone? The reformasi movement must be credited for its restraint and its ability to quickly organise itself into a legal political entity and forge an alliance with three other established opposition parties.

In fact, many credited the new kid on the block, Keadilan, for making a formal DAP-PAS alliance possible. The reformasi movement could not have sustained itself through street protests, given the brutal suppression by the state security apparatus and the indifference of the Malaysian public towards such tactics.

Football match

And in this new party, Ezam is only one among its many leaders, the majority of whom are not from Umno but drawn from the NGOs, the professionals and academia - from the president to her deputy and all three vice-presidents. And like any other political party, there will internal squabbles, jostling for positions, and opportunists who had dreamt of a quick victory - all which are beyond Ezam's control alone.

The fact that the authorities are specifically targeting the new party and its young leaders is proof enough that this is the party to watch for. Lately it has been quite successful in making inroads into the non-Malay constituency.

Ours is not a normal politics. Malaysia is sinking under a mountain of debt, corporate corruption has eaten into its body politics and its administration is saddled with inefficiency and low morale. The list of ills is long indeed. The future of the nation is not the responsibility of Ezam and his friends alone whilst the rest of us cheer our favourite teams on the sidelines like in a football match.

As a clinician in a tertiary medical institution, I draw on the analogy of a difficult clinical problem in which there is no clear cut diagnosis, but the need to institute treatment is no less urgent. We therefore make a 'provisional diagnosis' to base treatment on, and modify our views when laboratory results become available or the disease makes itself more recognisable.

The chosen provisional diagnosis may be right or it may be wrong. Applying this to our national politics, I have no hesitation in nailing my colours on the BA mast, for now anyway. Like many others among the professionals, I am quite willing to give Ezam and his new politics a try. What could be worse that what we already have for 43 years?

Up to this point, in my eyes, he has scored top marks. He is intelligent, and more importantly possesses remarkable integrity and courage. Even as I write this, he was locked up on the eve of Eidul Adha and later charged under the Sedition Act - one of the many brushes with the law that he has had in the past two years.

Some people might call that foolhardy. If that is so, then Malaysia needs more of them fools.