On Anwar, Shabery and Marina Mahathir

Like millions of Malaysians scattered all over the globe, I too am very much interested in Anwar-Shabery debate which took place last night. 

Who won? I personally think the debate itself was a winner. We must admit it's rather brave for the government to allow such daring stunt to be aired live, uncensored. A thing definitely unheard of just a few years back. Secondly, kudos to Shabery for his guts to even dare to be Anwar's sparring partner. Though in the end, it was only obvious how he got his position; hardly thru merit but more thru boot-licking (am sooooo tempted to replace boot with butt, here) the government & Tun M. Well, there's a very thin line between bravery and plain stupidity, as Shabery had so clearly demonstrated. I struggled to see Shabery's point and ended up feeling sorry for the guy, and even more sorry for those who cheered him at his cheap, coward shots towards Anwar. Typical 'old-school' Malays!

Some critics said Anwar did very well since he is after all a very veteran politician. Coining the words written by Marina Mahathir in her (pointless) blog, 

"Not that there was much to what they said. I didn't find either very convincing. But people are often convinced by demeanour, by what looks like sincerity and conviction. They look at what expressions you pull your face into and whether they are deliberate or not. Both debaters smile and neither smile is the sort that warms the cockles of your heart. "

Yes, my dear Marina... people in Malaysia are indeed thirsty for sincerity and conviction, thanks to an overdose of arrogant answers and ridicule from your dad when he was in power ( as if he was the only one born with brain). 

She continued further...

"The curious thing was that Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah seemed disinclined to applaud her husband at all. (I wish I knew which one was Shabery's wife. All the women in the audience seemed to be Anwar fans except maybe Halimah Sadique.)"

FYI, Marina, that is what humble people do... guess must be very hard for some of us who have very little degree of humility & humbleness to comprehend Azizah's way of supporting her husband. When I first read your 'assumption' that all the women in the audience seemed to be Anwar's fans...I couldn't help but to predict you have come to that conclusion since all of them, except for one were wearing hijab, which from my understanding from your & your fellow Sisters in Islam's friends' writings, a sign of backwardness & oppression. But maybe I am wrong. For all I know you could've come to that conclusion, by seeing the 'nur', intelligence and serenity in their faces. Either way, I couldn't care less.

She ended her entry with...

"Anyway, all in all I think these debates are a good thing. Let's have more match-ups. How about Nik Aziz against Zahid Hamidi? Yen Yen against Shahrizat? Azalina against Rafidah? Nazri against Guan Eng? Harussani against Asri? Yummy, makes for great TV!"

Heck! Marina....why not you against Azizah? Why not Tun M against Anwar himself? Why not your brother Mukhriz against hmmm....let's see...let's be gentle since unlike the veteran politician Anwar, Mukhriz is a mere 'virgin' politician (maybe velantroquist is more suitable of a definition for him). Okay then...let's get him Nurul Izzah to practice....

This is not my first time writing about Marina. I used to write once a few years back, in response to what she wrote in the local newspaper, criticizing the local Islamic Council over an incident at Zouk, KL. She threatened that if the Islamic Council is so strict about Do's and Don'ts in M'sia, then she and her friends would wanna migrate overseas...Sigh...I am still waiting for that wonderful day to arrive....

P/S: The measure of a man...is how he keeps his cool and composure when comes under attack. Kudos, DSAI! May Allah bless your struggle.