ANWAR 'FATIGUE': Are we really tired of him or totally GIVEN UP on Najib, Umno

I WAS the duty editor at the Bernama newsdesk in the evening of Sept 2, 1998 when the press secretary of the then prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad told me not to leave the office until he arrived "with a very important press release".

Datuk Zakaria Wahab, now the editor-in-chief of the national news agency, handed a brown envelope containing the press release "exclusively for Bernama".

It was just four paragraphs but it was a press release like no other that I had handled in my long career in journalism. And to say that it took my breath away was a gross understatement for in my hands was a piece of news that was not only earth-shattering locally but on the global stage.

I immediately transmitted on the Bernama news wire a news flash, a one-paragraph announcement that the then deputy prime minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had been sacked on "moral grounds".

Less than 10 minutes later, that news flash travelled round the world and made it to CNN's Breaking News repeatedly with the Bernama credit line.

September of 1998 was a roller-coaster month for the country. Malaysia was host of the Commonwealth Games for which no expense was spared as it was the biggest sporting extravaganza we had ever held.

Queen Elizabeth was in town as head of the Commonwealth to open the event and in the midst of it, Anwar was arrested under the Internal Security Act for leading massive street protests against his sacking.

There was the Asian economic crisis that caused the stock market and the ringgit to fall like ten-pins amid threats of massive loan defaults.

And to make matters worse, much of the country especially the Klang Valley was engulfed in the worst haze we had ever seen.

At the end of that month, Anwar was charged with corruption and sodomy of his family driver, Azizan Bakar.

Over the next few years he was embroiled in lengthy court trials and the appeal process that culminated with his six-year jail sentence on the corruption charge and nine years for sodomy.

He served time at Sungai Buloh prison for corruption but was freed on Sept 2 in 2004 when, by a majority decision, the Federal Court overturned the High Court and Court of Appeal's conviction for sodomy.

No other top-ranking modern-day politicians has gone through what he did in terms of personal "tragedy" and trauma and many would have thought then that it was the beginning of the end for a man who was once just a heartbeat away from becoming the prime minister.

He came back with a vengeance after serving out the five-year mandatory ban on holding political office following his release.

With him as their de facto leader, the Pakatan Rakyat coalition scored impressive victories in the 2008 general election and even better in 2013 when the opposition won more popular votes than the Barisan Nasional.

He proved to be the glue that binds the three parties in Pakatan that have different ideologies which appear to be growing in support especially among Generation Y.

But in 2008 itself, he let legions of his supporters and fellow party leaders down when another aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, accused him of sodomy.

History had repeated itself in an even more shocking manner and the nation, already suffering from an acute syndrome of "Anwar fatigue", had to go through yet another round of lengthy court trials.

In the midst of it all in March last year, Anwar attempted to get himself appointed as mentri besar of Selangor by contesting a by-election, but this was scuttled by the Court of Appeal that found him guilty of the sodomy charge, reversing the High Court decision to acquit him of the charge a year earlier.

Through all his antics and fiery oratory, one trademark of Anwar stands out – that of always shifting the blame for his personal transgressions and misconduct on others.

There are many public figures who at times admit to their weaknesses or mistakes but I have never heard or read of Anwar owning up despite all kinds of accusations coming his way as to his moral character.

His reputation as a street protester gained during his student leader days when he was detained for two years under the ISA never left him.

It's in his DNA to always dismiss all allegations of personal misconduct as "politically-motivated to end my political career".

There was more of such opera when the five judges of the Federal Court unanimously upheld on Tuesday the conviction and the five-year jail sentence on the charge under what's known as Sodomy II.

This means that despite having the biggest defence team in local legal history, 14 lawyers in all, the highest court in the land ruled that the case against Anwar was proven beyond reasonable doubt on all counts.

Again, Anwar's conviction and imprisonment was top news around the world but with him behind bars, the country can now perhaps hopefully have a well-deserved break from "Anwar fatigue".

His supporters and opposition party leaders ought to let reason and common sense rule their heads as it is in everyone's interest that the nation moves and charts the future beyond Anwar the man.

They have to come to terms with the reality that at 67, the jail term marks the end of Anwar's long and winding political journey.

The earlier they find a new Pakatan de facto leader the better for them and the grapevine is abuzz with talk that Selangor mentri besar and PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali in all likelihood will be Anwar's "natural successor".

Irrespective of our political inclinations and feelings, it's only natural that we feel sorry for the tragedy that has befallen Anwar and certainly the trauma and pain his family is going through yet again.

A day before Anwar began his prison sentence, his daughter, Nurul Izzah, the MP for Lembah Pantai and PKR vice-president, summed it up: "My father is getting older and what is sad is that while before, we witnessed that individual who protected us hauled to prison. Now our father whom we should be protecting may be victimised again. No child would ever want to go through that." - Sundaily