April 15, 2008
Was not intending to drag myself to Kampung Baru from the office, but by 5pm, I got restless.
If Anwar was going to lay bare his plans, reading about it in the blogs and Malaysiakini just would not do.
I wanted to be able to observe the man’s body language and make my own deductions.
Got to the venue a little after 8pm with Tony, Meesh and Shami.
Won’t bother to write about what Anwar said, as Tony has done a very good report HERE.
For some good photographs of the evening, check them out HERE.
These are non-copyrighted photos.
That Pakatan Rakyat is committed to the agenda of ‘ketuanan rakyat’ and not ‘ketuanan Melayu’ and the resounding approval from the largely Malay crowd was encouraging.
Just hope that most of those in the crowd fully appreciate the implications of this new agenda.
My sense last night was that much of what Anwar said was delivered with sincerity.
As he spoke, I quickly sized up for myself the options that confronted the nation.
Pak Lah is going down. That seems to be an irretrievable position.
Ku Li has made his intentions known.
And Najib looms in the shadows, with all the baggage that he bears.
Ku Lu, Najib or Anwar : those are the only options I can see before us in the short term.
Seen in that light, there are no real options.
I promised Barry earlier that I would spell out my concerns about Anwar, and I will.
For now, I guess I’ll just say that I will draw some comfort from the fact that Anwar now has to work in a completely different circumstance from his days in the BN government, in a completely different political climate.
In Pakatan Rakyat, DAP and PAS will afford the requisite check and balance.
And, dare I hope, he will have to contend with a civil society that has found its voice and the power at its disposal. This must serve as the ultimate control over those who pledge to serve this nation and its people.
So, yes, I guess Anwar is the only option.
For now, that is.
