Ijok - bringing out the worst in us!

Ijok has brought out the worst in most of us, including myself because we perceive the stakes as high for our future, some more personal than others, while there are those of a more conceptual or idealistic form.

Let em start with myself. As a number of visitors remarked, why I have been ‘hentam-ing’ Anwar Ibrahim?

I didn’t start with Ijok. In that perhaps I am consistent, but certainly Ijok has made me put in more effort in blogging against Anwar Ibrahim. Therefore it can be said that Ijok has perhaps brought out the worst in me where my blogging has become neglectful of other equally important issues – for example, I haven’t posted anything recently on Palestine happenings or the nefarious Bush Administration.

To me, Anwar Ibrahim, based on his record as an UMNO minister, is a very dangerous man to support, He may not be the candidate for Ijok but he has imposed his presence on us. Who wins in Ijok is up to the residents, but I need to reveal the nature of this man.

Many said we have no choice as there isn’t anything else with his charisma, leadership and standing. The Devil has all that too, so should we be making a Faustian pact?

Why then can’t we forgive him?

Helmy Haja Maidin answered that in a letter to malaysiakini (extract as follows):

Whilst I condemned the misuse of the judiciary in the disposal of Anwar’s political career, I dispelled the hubris that he ‘rose up against the government’ for the altruistic purpose of promoting truth and justice. My friends and I had a simple question – why had he not walked this talk back when he was in power?

Why wait until he (or his supporters rather) lost a political coup that was instigated in the midst of an international economic crisis? If he had started (in his various capacities as education and finance minister) the ‘reformasi’ before being kicked out, he would have been held in much higher stead.

Helmy also said what I have blogged before, as to why we can’t forgive the man’s past or work with him for the future: Anwar has not shown a single bit of remorse for his very dark records during his UMNO days, by at least acknowledging his various mistakes.

Instead, he blames everyone but himself as if he was lily-white all the while. He has been unrepentant for his conduct during his days in UMNO. A man who is unrepentant for his actions may be taken to still believe in those actions and likely to re-commit them.

For example, in his attempt to subvert the standing of vernacular schools, in sending non-Mandarin speaking principals and assistant principals to Chinese schools in 1987 which led to near racial riots and Operation Lallang, he has come under the campaign microscope of the Gerakan and MCA. What has he said to this?

His response to the matter was to cite ‘limitations imposed by UMNO then', but would not apologise on the matter. See what I mean, that this man is totally unrepentant over his nasty policies as an UMNO minister, and would always be blaming everyone else.

Najib has just struck back at Anwar and asked: "If you now say that you fight for Chinese rights, tell us what exactly did you do when you were education minister?"

And he might let us know too what he had done for us as Finance Minister and Deputy PM?

If Anwar didn’t have the backbone in UMNO to stand up and be counted, how then could we expect him to have the necessary backbone now (to fight for everyone) when he resumes power, assuming he becomes a future BA PM or worse, an UMNO PM?

And please don’t argue that he sacrificed himself in prison for years. He didn’t! He lost in an avaricious power struggle with a fiercer and more powerful tiger, and didn’t have any option but to remain locked up in prison. It wasn’t justice but the fact has been that there wasn’t a choice for him, so the argument of him sacrificing himself did not exist.

Has Ijok brought out the worst in you too? Did you succumb to double standards? Did you preach what you so freely and readily advocate?

‘Tis a time when our ‘world’ is in turmoil, yes, a time not unlike the biblical creature which will attempt to crawl to Putra ... Bethlehem to be reborn.