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Dato' Seri Anwar emerges into the spotlight, his reputation and instincts burnished

THE MORE ONE LOOKS into Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim's dramatic release from prison yesterday (02 September 2004) the more one realises politics, not law, that ensured it. He was charged, humiliated, convicted in a political vendetta. The only way he could be released ahead of time only by political intervention. The prime minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, like his predecessor, Tun Mahathir Mohamed, wanted him in jail for as long as possible. The rules were stretched so he could not get what others charged for similar offences would as a matter of right. The judges, their hands tied, could do little but convict. The speed with which he goes for his surgery – he leaves tonight – raised many an eyebrow. That appears to be part of the deal, that he would leave immediately after his release, and not return for a while as Pak Lah tried to firm his rule. What forced Pak Lah's hand was the fear Dato' Seri Anwar might die on him – horror of horrors – before the UMNO elections in three weeks. Dato' Seri Anwar held his ground, and did not want a deal in which he would lose out politically.

His release also came because politics insisted he be. Pak Lah and the BN government had no role in it. The Saudi government forced it. When the federal government last year refused to allow Dato' Seri Anwar surgery in Munich for his severe back problems, the Saudi government offered to take responsibility for him. It was refused. This year, Pak Lah's health minister refused it again in a statement to parliament. When Pak Lah visited Riyadh to get help for a pressing fiscal problem, he did not get it. The Saudis tried again, as Dato' Seri Anwar's condition worsened, and with it the probability of an early release from jail. A senior member of the Mahathir cabinet, now retired, reputedly visited him in hospital, and the political solution worked out. Pak Lah's hands were forced because the 2-1 verdict that released Dato' Seri Anwar was rumoured for weeks – and in a capital where news is sparse, rumours often a mask for what happened.

The Saudi connexion in his release was another rumour. But there is more. The Wilayah Mosque, off Jalan Duta and near the government offices, is known amongst civil servants and the Anwar Ibrahim mosque. It was he, as finance minister, who pushed for it. Friday prayers today (03 September 2004) is expected to be especially crowded for two reasons: leading it today is the Imam of the Grand Mosque of Mecca and the father-in-law of King Fahd, Abdurrahman Suddais; and the rumour that Dato' Seri Anwar could be present. The imam has been here a few days, and he certainly is not here for Friday prayers. The Saudi government has sent a jet with full medical facilities to transport Dato' Seri Anwar for his surgery in Munich. It is expected that he would recuperate in Saudi Arabia.

But the speed with which Dato' Seri Anwar leaves for surgery is surreal. The Saudi jet was on the air as the three judges were reading their written judgement. Pak Lah expressed surprise at the result, but accepted the verdict though the body languge did not suggest it. He is praised for his studious detachment but the reality is that the 2-1 verdict was known a while ago, and the postponement of the decision was to persuade them to change their minds. It does not matter if this is true or not. But it reflects the now prevalent view in the judiciary that if they did not act to prevent the judiciary's stock going any lower, justice in Malaysia would be a joke. Pak Lah's supporters could have hoped to turn Dato' Seri Anwar's release into a political advantage, but it was not to be. Dato' Seri Anwar has got what he wanted, without giving away too much. He had manouevred himself to make the issue of his treatment political, and trapped the government into accepting it. The government could dismiss him as a criminal, but the man who walked out of the Federal Court a free man was the politician.

Within minutes of returning to his Bukit Bandaraya residence, Dato' Seri Anwar was inundated with telephone calls; the most persistent were from MCA leaders, who must now get used to treat the prisoner as a honoured political colleague. By midnight, the area surrounding was packed with thousands of wellwishers, and every available space for miles taken by their cars. Unlike in the heady days of "reformasi", when the police were conspicously around to harrass and threaten, they stayed out of sight and directing traffice. When I went towards the house, I was stuck in a 30-minute traffic jam of cars heading towards his house. The area had the semblance of a carnival, but entry into the house was all but impossible. I could not get in because of the crowds, and left without meeting him. But others better placed – one prominent visitor was Pak Lah's son-in-law Mr Khairy Jamaluddin; no one, of course, asked why the UMNO youth deputy chief had a 15-minute private talk with Dato' Seri Anwar, himself a former UMNO youth chief – were in attendance.

His demeanour suggests he is now as determined as ever to initiate the reforms which landed him in jail. He has taken the high road, forgiving the man who put him in jail, subdued his anger, his encouraging words suggest he would continue to be the political bete noir of UMNO. But that he might rejoin UMNO – as some suggest he would – has frightened the deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak, whose scripted answers to this rumour was to say that he cannot since he leader another political party. UMNO leaders would now work to putting up high walls to isolate Dato' Seri Anwar from UMNO. The Opposition has found a saviour to rescue it from the mind-numbing irrelevances that prevent them from getting together to challenge the governing BN coalition. The BN is bereft of leadership as UMNO struggles to contain this unexpected political tidal wave. He is the only leader the Opposition has now who is acceptable to all political parties. But UMNO would have to treat him gingerly for fear of further erosion of members fed up with what it did to Dato' Seri Anwar.

His release has forced a re-alighment of political forces. He has one advantage: UMNO tried to destroy him, and could not. He does not fear it any more. His post-release statement that he has no malice to his tormentors, and praising Pak Lah, appears to be a deliberate attempt to leave the past behind, and move on. This frightens UMNO and the BN coalition it leads, that it would be UMNO that would see an erosion of its support. It is no surprise that two men so marginalised – Dato' Seri Anwar and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah – poses the greatest threat to UMNO. Its leaders have quietly called on Tengku Razaleigh these past months and years, more after he was stopped from contesting the UMNO presidency. And so In Saudi Arabia or wherever Dato' Seri Anwar would recuperate after the operation, to repair links with the man they publicly and happily reviled. Few outside those who believed in him could have thought this possible so soon.

M.G.G. Pillai
pillai@streamyx.com