You can kill the man but not his spirit

His political career is done for, but his most important political moment is probably just beginning.

COMMENT

by Syed Izzaddin Jaafar

For some, last Tuesday’s reiteration of Anwar Ibrahim’s guilty verdict spells the end of his political career. Yet politics is as much about perception as it is about power, and Anwar as an emblem of a political struggle is still a powerful force.

His political enemies must now realise that when they take away his freedom and leave him nothing to fight with, they are left facing an adversary with nothing to lose.

There is nothing more emboldening than the feeling of fighting injustice, whether perceived or real.

Anwar as a meme will engulf Facebook posts and Twitter messages. Photos depicting his languishing self, his last days as a free man and all are already the iconic stuff meant to adorn posters and picket fences.

Anwar the symbol will be a far greater force than Anwar the man.

When the huddled mass is giving voice to a voiceless man, nothing can be louder. Revolutions and great social movements are often driven by the ideals of the fallen. From the iconic red and sephia tinted poster of Che Guevara to the languid smile of Aung San Suu Kyi, these silent images reverberate with grand battle cries, supported by myriads of sound bites and quotes repeated ad nauseam without ever losing their impact.

Add to the mix the eternal enemy, villainous forces bent on destroying the fallen’s ideas and ideals and you have the eternal burning of the embers of struggle. The fallen hero would render the opposing forces into caricatures representing the worst and the darkest. There are the corrupt and their willing toadies. There is the old enemy, forever waiting at the gates. There are even enemies within, turncoats and traitors, waiting to be exposed.

Anwar the poster will be a greater force for change than Anwar the man. Anwar the meme will touch more hearts than his words could ever do. Anwar the symbol might be the thing that would presage the change he so assiduously fought for as a free man.

His political career is done for, but his most important political moment is probably just beginning.

Syed Izzaddin Jaafar is an FMT reader