ANWAR CHANGES THE ISSUES

ANWAR CHANGES THE ISSUES

source : azizhassan.blogspot.com

I LIKE the best talkers amongst the politicians, not because I believe in most of what they say but because they seldom fail to amuse. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim must rank near the top amongst the talkers, if not at the top itself.

But if a politician can get away by simply twisting and turning every time he comes to a dead end we must all be doomed.

Even months before he won the Permatang Pauh by-election last month so much was already being written by the press about Anwar. The foreign press especially loves him, quoting his every word, reporting his every plan. But the strange thing is despite their experience in covering politics internationally, when it comes to Anwar almost all the foreign boys can't see the wood from the trees. Since he won that by-election and became a Member of Parliament and subsequently opposition leader, no press boy wants to miss an Anwar press conference or statement.

Wednesday was no different as Anwar went to court to hear arguments regarding where the sodomy allegation against him should be heard. It was when asked outside the court about his grandiose plan to become prime minister the instant noodle way that Anwar backtracked on a lot of things he had said previously.

Who can forget all the announcements about how he was going to topple the Barisan Nasional government by September 16 via a mass defection. What most people didn't realise was that even if enough Barisan MPs had crossed over by then, technically Anwar would not have been assured of the prime ministership that soon. For that matter technically he could have been denied that opportunity but never mind that.

Even if he could not convince Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that he had the numbers, Anwar could have tried to do better with the public. That too he failed to do and yet kept on insisting that Abdullah convene an emergency session of parliament, although that would require a window of at least 14 days.

If you were in Abdullah's shoes you wouldn't have even one compelling reason to convene a session that would give your opposite number the throne on a platter. But Anwar calls that refusal by Pak Lah an act of sabotage.

Said Anwar: "They have called me many things before. The point is if they believe I'm a liar then put me to the test in parliament."

So what's the problem? The schedule says the Dewan Rakyat will resume its session on October 13 after we have eaten enough rendang and ketupat. Go through the proper procedures and show us that you can do it. After all it was you who said on Wednesday that "we want to exhaust all the legal avenues available... we do not want to transgress the constitutional rules and procedures". Precisely the position Pak Lah has taken -- follow procedures and the schedule for parliamentary sessions decided earlier.

Who set the September 16 deadline plus a few other "minor" deadlines before that? Anwar right? That day came and went and many in the opposition now concede that the entire take-over plan is as good as gone, just like September 16 2008. Having missed his own deadline Anwar now says "it's not an issue of deadlines". Amazing and truly amusing too. For good measure I suggest that you read the letter in Wednesday's Star from one Elviza Michele Kamal of Kajang. The heading is "Anwar's clock ticks loudly".

kzso - right on the dot!