ANWAR IBRAHIM: LOVE AND FORGIVENESS: READINGS ON THE ASIAN RENAISSANCE 2

Anwar Ibrahim’s rise and  involvement as a prominent politician in the Malaysian government came to an abrupt halt in 1998 when he was sacked from his posts by the then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. After he organised the biggest reform protest in the nation’s history, his home was raided, he was put into jail without bail, cuffed, blindfolded and was even beaten up by the Inspector General of Police.

It was during that period when he suffered that police assault that he was once mistaken for dead. His famous photograph with a black eye became the symbol of his predicament worldwide and the beating has left him with a permanent back injury that requires wearing a fortified brace all the time.

Despite his serious injury and harsh treatment, he is forgiving. He doesn’t expect an apology from the powers that be and has no plans to sue the government. “Can you sue Hitler?” he asks.  He was a close aide and was said to be the protégé of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed, he took on corruption within the first family leading to his arrest and conviction the first time. He has been described as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International twice for the previous and his recent imprisonment, and has received widespread support from the world over after he was jailed.

Anwar was put on trial and convicted for the crimes of corruption in 1999 related to dubious sexual offences, subsequently he was imprisoned for the sexual misconduct only to be repealed later upon a lengthy appeal. It was the most shameful and ridiculous bout of absurdity in the courts as shown by the lugging about and frequent display of a stained mattress appearing as “material evidence”. The official media and main news outlets were having a field day shaming and slandering him. In 2008 the whole shenanigan was replayed.

The first trials were conducted during a major political fallout, amidst incessant disputes between Mahathir and Anwar Ibrahim over financial and economic measures that were to be implemented within the country during an economic crisis and viral accusations of cronyism at the top. 6 years later, Dr. Mahathir’s successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, released Anwar much to Mahathir’s chagrin, and Anwar went on to become the leading opposition figure until his second imprisonment for similarly questionably charges. Mahathir never forgave Abdullah Badawi for giving such latitude in allowing Anwar’s freedom.

Those who met him would realise that it was his strong sense of humour and courage of conviction that he was never in the wrong that helped him survive six years in solitary confinement the first time.

When speaking of his time in prison then, Anwar spoke of the hardship and the pain of losing his loved ones and the deaths of those closest to him while he was incarcerated. In order to endure that difficult time, he depended heavily on the Quran, the Islamic religious text, prayers and meditation. He filled up the time with reading and immersing himself with books. He was engrossed in great classical literature, not just versions of Islam but also of the Bible and Confucian texts. He read and read Shakespeare.  He spoke specifically about King Lear, saying that, “… King Lear is in prison with Cordelia. He comes out wiser and more detached. So when I came out, I’ve forgiven all of the past, let us move forward.”

Much of his political views and thoughts are similarly centred around the same role of religious teachings of peace, spirituality and forgiveness. “I’m a practicing Muslim,” he said, “and I think compassion is part of the religious teaching.” For Anwar Ibrahim, that compassion means putting an emphasis on equality for all in Malaysia, not just for the Muslims of the country but people of other confession and beliefs. According to him, “More than half a century after independence, we don’t want poor Malays to be marginalized or Chinese to feel discriminated and Indians ignored.” He says his stance on such issues does not make him pro-secularization, but rather makes him “pro-justice and freedom.”

Anwar spoke concerning Mahathir’s incessant attacks even in his twilight years having shown no remorse or regret, “When I was released I said that I would forgive but not forget [the injustices heaped upon me and my family]. It was sometime thereafter that Dr Mahathir resumed his baseless accusations against my character in a manner that was undermining my rights as a Malaysian citizen. I am within my rights as a human being to defend my reputation in the public eye and will rely on Malaysian Courts to grant justice where justice is due. But this is not a case about clearing my name - it is a question of preserving my name against these ongoing vicious attacks in a manner consistent with the protections afforded me by Malaysian law.”

Speaking of his relationship with Mahathir and on perhaps things could have been done differently, Anwar said, “Others have asked me how I see Mahathir now, and I spent the first 20 minutes talking about the nice time I had with him. They said, “No, please be serious.” I said, “I am!” That’s a wonderful thing to have. Of course I get angry, I counter his arguments, rebut very strongly, in some ways despise his hypocrisy, the gross injustice, but I wouldn’t deny the positive contributions he made. But the destruction of the institutions of government, that’s unforgivable. Personally, I’m okay, I moved on, but the judiciary, media, the police force, parliament, were all relegated to becoming inconsequential.”

(On whether things could be different) “Oh, I thought about that a lot. You have to remember, I was in prison, so what do you do? Meditate, read and think. And sing, I sing quite a bit too. You do, you reflect, but then it was mutual, he was kind to me and I was exceedingly kind and loyal to him. It was a very difficult period but I don’t think I had much option towards the end. In fact, I’ve always said to my more critical friends that I have absolved myself. After all, we were part of the government. Some of the decisions were bitter, but we needed to draw the line.

Things like bailouts, things like the corruption reports against ministers, already on your table, and for you to say “not to do anything”… you have to bring it up! But people say you could have compromised, some friends did say that. But then you would have transgressed the boundary. If or when you do take over, how do you then rationalise with the public what you’ve done? If it’s done by the prime minister, well there’s not much I can do. But if it is condoned by you, you have a problem. So, do I regret it? No. Was it difficult? Yes. Do I think I had other options? No, except to resign early, or to die a fighter.”

Asked about the book he wrote, “Asian Renaissance”, Anwar replied, “That book became quite contentious because people close to Mahathir thought we were clearly parting ways. Secondly, the central idea of economics empowerment is critical, but not everything, that’s why I talked about renaissance, cultural empowerment, I talked about freedom, and justice. And I think there was a flaw in the thinking at that time of these economic gurus: prescriptions by the World Bank, the IMF about the East Asian economic miracle, and so forth. They didn’t talk about disparity, the marginalised, the poor, whether the judiciary is independent or not, or if the media’s free. To them ‘the miracle’ was in terms of a limited notion of economics and power. I hold very dearly the thesis I presented in that book. That’s why I used the term ‘renaissance’.

But it’s a challenge. Once you are transformed into a relatively vibrant democracy, then you actually allow for space. And that latitude is essential for the mushrooming of ideas. That, to me, is very critical when you talk in terms of economics or cultural empowerment.

That is happening more successfully in Indonesia and the Philippines because they are more democratic. Although I wouldn’t want to deny the fact that Indonesia, too, is facing a major problem due to endemic corruption and marginalisation. If the issue of governance is not resolved, people have this suspicion, then whatever policies, however rational or good, will always be suspect. Is it to enrich your cronies or is it really something really essential to the masses?  Trust is important.”

On his greatest political achievement to date, Anwar says, “There is still a long way to go. So we shall see. People say that success means you assume office. It’s not true. Success is when you’re able to deliver.

It’s not when you attain the position. That’s I think the wisdom of having been there and being downtrodden. And I think that keeps your sanity and humility. I think that’s important. People think being prime minister is the end, but I don’t think so.

I think you should be evaluated and judged. And when you’re able to honour your commitments after you assume office, and remain true to your ideas, that, to me, is a far greater challenge than articulating this ideal in the absence of authority or power. When you’re there, you deal with the realpolitik, with the power play, with the big forces, with the tycoons. If they give you a 10 million dollar ring, what do you do?”

When asked how he would deal with such tycoons and sustain his idealism, Anwar explained, “I’m a man of faith; I’m a practicing Muslim. At the same time, I grew up well thanks to my parents. I’m grateful for my parents, they were quite idealistic, my late mum and my father. My mother is not English-educated but she’s an avid reader. She virtually read all novels in Malay or in Bahasa Indonesia in those days, the entire collection of Balai Pustaka books. And my dad, we always had these small compendiums of books, from Gandhi to Lao Tzu to Confucius, and it’s interesting. For a Muslim family in a village, with a small library at home, we have that. So you familiarise yourself. I go to Quran class, and following the Nabi (prophet), as an intellectual, you don’t view religion purely from a dogmatic sense but you engage.

Roger Garaudy was a great philosopher, who started off being a Christian in France, then later on became a Muslim. It’s very interesting what he said, unlike a new convert. He said, “I’m blessed, I grew up a Christian, and that’s where I learnt compassion and tolerance. Then I became a Communist, and I had strong empathy and love for the poor and downtrodden. Then I became a Muslim and then I became more universal.” So just because he is a Muslim, the past is no longer relevant? No, the past is what is him.

Exactly what Amartya Sen had said. In his book “Identity and Violence”, he said, “I’m an Indian, I memorised Sanskrit at the age of nine and I think it was a great thing, I’m a Hindu and I think we have a great civilisation, but because I’m in India, I think that Muslim moguls have done wonderfully well. But later I became a professor in Cambridge, in Harvard. I think it’s a great institution and I love being here in America and despite the fact that I grew up in Santiniketan, I am a great admirer of Shakespeare. So who am I?” And that is beautiful. I use that a lot. And when you read it and understand it and you see these people talking about Malay supremacy, oh my god, they know nothing.”

On why he was charged with such a peculiarly reprehensible allegation, he said, “They cannot taint me with corruption or any other criminal misconduct so finally sodomy was chosen - because this would enrage the rural conservative Muslim constituency. Moreover it is easier, there is no proof required to convict me, it is a matter of accepting the complainant’s view.”

He brought the matter up (criminal slander, Qadhaf) to be tried under Islamic Law explaining, “I did that because they use Islam and they say you should swear by the Quran which to me is an insult. I am a practising Muslim and it is an insult to Quran to consider crimes to be resolved only by swearing on the holy book. You rape a girl and you swear by the Quran and you are free? What does this mean? Is this what Islam teaches us? I consulted all religious authorities and they said no (to swearing oaths), they said the only option is to refer the matter to the religious court. That’s why I decided to go there but they wouldn’t dare bring it up.”

The sodomy charge used to harass him apparently seemed to foreigners to be used commonly in Malaysia to which Anwar expressly remarked, “No, I am an exception. It’s a phobia created against me, a sort of xenophobia. You look at the media on prime time TV-- I am a threat to security, I am anti Malay, they say I went to India and attacked Malaysia. Once I asked the Minister of Information, “Can you give me one week's leave?” He didn’t understand, he asked me, “Where do you want to go?” He kept on asking – I finally said, “Shut up on Anwar in your TV network.” The media is UMNO controlled, there is no freedom. The foreign media has been kind to me. Amnesty and Human Rights Watch played a major role in raising the issue.”

The most corrupt will be supporting legislation against corruption. We must measure change from actual reform and actual implementation of the reform, not pronouncements. If I am a rich man, I can pay 22 million US dollars to appoint an international PR consultant appointed by Sani Abacha and others- so naturally they must give him (the Malaysian Prime Minister) good advice- but should you be presumptuous and accept their version? No. You should assess by the performance what have they done. Is corruption rooted out? Is there a free media? Is there an independent judiciary?

 I was once arrested, and put in a lock up on a cement floor for one night and then released, for no reason- other than abuse --they could have asked me to go to the police station for questioning. But the good thing is I have the humility now - that means your passion for justice becomes strong- if I can be treated that way- I am a known person, the world talks about me. What about the poor guys?”

Forgiveness is a vital part of Anwar Ibrahim’s life, and it has consistently played a prominent role in his dealing with others who have mistreated him. An example given was of an issue that arose in 2008 when the Foreign Minister of the time called Anwar an American agent. Such an accusation is taken extremely seriously, and Anwar Ibrahim was thus compelled to take the case to court, but six years later, when both men appeared in court, the ex Foreign Minister who had accused him of being an American spy said that it had been long since this issue had occurred, and urged that it was time to drop the case and move on. Ibrahim agreed, but placed the condition that if he dropped the case, then the former Foreign Minister had to retract his statements and publicly apologize. The former Foreign Minister refused, saying that he would not do so in public but would do so privately in the chambers so that it would appear in court documents. Much to the shock of his family and friends, Anwar Ibrahim agreed, dropped the case and accepted his accuser's apology. His family and friends, he said, were furious and confused, but, “… then they understood. They said that the Quran is very clear, and that it’s superior to forgive.” Thus, both religion and forgiveness have played a vital role in Anwar’s decision making.

Moving forward, Anwar Ibrahim believes that justice must be consistent, and that love, compassion and forgiveness is what we should focus on. “If you show love, compassion, and forgiveness for those around you on earth,” said Anwar, “then those in the heavens will shower love and blessings on you.” (Borislava Manojlovic 2015, The Love & Forgiveness Project. School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University)

Concerning his family and friends, Anwar said, “My wife has been supportive all along. She became politically active only after I was detained but my daughter is in politics. The government prompted people to ask my wife --"Why are you still with your husband? Why don’t you demand a divorce?" Can it happen anywhere else in the world? That is the state of gutter politics in Malaysia - insulting human dignity and they call it moderate Islam. I was badly assaulted and in pain but otherwise its okay. I survived reading, meditating, being patient, and the conviction that ultimately you will be victorious. The role my family, my wife Azizah and the children too played was remarkable. People prayed for me- it was amazing the support I had.”