Anwar the Innovator

Times have changed the way everyone conducts themselves in politics, and both the opposition and ruling party have Anwar Ibrahim to thank.

Pakatan Rakyat Sarawak was rumoured recently to have engaged a KL based public relations firm to compile data trends of voters in the entire 71 state seat.

The data is to include voting trends, voters' attitude on local and national issues, transportation issues to voting station, voters' opinion on their incumbent ADUNs, and other related trends.

This data will then be used to select a group of potential candidates for the next state elections, and these potential candidates will mostly be Dayak professionals.

PR is banking on these candidates to capture the Sarawak DUN in the next state election in 2010 or 2011. They know the only way to do this is to strategise and execute their plan way ahead of time.

PR defacto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has set 16 September 2011 as his day in Putrajaya. So, controlling the Sarawak DUN, and thus controlling the state, will be the first crucial step in securing MP seats in Sarawak. If PR gains Sarawak, then surely the Malaysian Government is theirs.

Whether in 2011 we will see a change in government is too far away to be seen. However, the move by PR Sarawak is but the tip of the iceberg.

If they are really taking these steps, then it brings proof that PR is still quite serious in its quest to replace the ruling coalition, BN. It is also not strange since the individual component parties within PR have been known to mobilize way in advance of any elections, in contrast to BN who are known to be complacent.

PR has at its head a strategist extraordinaire. The sterling performance of PR in the last general elections has been attributed to his excellent foresight and strategy. What many fail to realise is that Anwar Ibrahim has the uncanny ability to surround himself with professionals.

The first time Parti Keadilan Rakyat ever entered a general election, they utilised professional graphic designers to design their campaign posters with catchy colours and layout, a total runaway from the conventional one-colour campaign posters.

This positioned PKR candidates above the BN candidates visually. It was indeed a very clever exercise albeit more expensive but it achieved the desired result in the poster war.

PR was also the pioneer in using buntings and banners as their party's promotional materials, a more 'current' look as opposed to the outdated 'kain rentang', the one-coloured version espousing party loyalties that have been a staple of Malaysian politics. Until now.

PR's promotional materials also focused on local and current issues. Since then, we see this as common practice.

Anwar has truly changed not only the way the opposition fights their battles but also how everyone in politics, the ruling coalition included, go about their business today. This is a good thing for it forces everyone on both sides of the political spectrum to remain on their toes and to perform better.

Campaigns aside, MPs on both sides are now arming themselves with better information. They are no more depending on the "official version" of events. We now see MPs using and hiring researchers to find out and actually learn about facts, figures and sentiments behind the real issues.

This in-depth research style is indicative of Anwar's practice of using his experience and insider knowledge of the government's inner workings to ask hard questions. MPs need information to do the same.

Even while he was in government office, Anwar had been known as a reformer. He apparently led the 'purges' which cleaned up ministries and agencies, and whether this is pr spin or actual fact is moot because the public will believe what they choose to.

Good news or not for the local politics scene, Anwar has also unleashed new problems when he consistently uses the international media to attack the government.

His flight to the Turkish Embassy whilst under duress actually gives him mileage and perhaps credibility in the eyes of the world, but at the same time can be seen as a media stunt which also demeans our country on a global arena.

Whatever the case, Anwar is in a position to do great things, whether or not he will become the Prime Minister. True to his personality, he is at the forefront of politics and is poised to make even bigger changes to Malaysia, and for the better.

Because he has been part of the government 'system' prior, he has the knowledge of its inner workings. This advantage of insider knowledge is valuable in assessing its strengths and weaknesses, and in prescribing effective solutions.

Thus the real role of Anwar is that of 'innovator'. He is the breath of 'fresh air' that brings with it change. His is a great opportunity, to challenge the current government to the hilt to do and be better at governing our nation.

The danger is for him to fall into the stale and limiting traditional roles of the Opposition, merely sniping at the government and staging acts of defiance like parliamentary walkouts.

He, too must remain fresh in his approach, if we are to continue to benefit. We can only hope that Anwar "The Great Innovator" will continue his streak.

Malaysian Digest