Conflating the architects with the beneficiary.”

 

Before assigning blame, we should first be honest about the historical record.

The Pakatan Harapan manifesto (Buku Harapan) was launched on 8 March 2018, when Anwar Ibrahim was still incarcerated. He only received a royal pardon and returned to active politics on 16 May 2018, after GE14 had already been won. 

Certainly, one can argue that as the current chairman and leading figure of Pakatan Harapan, Anwar should ultimately bear responsibility for the coalition's successes and failures. Leadership carries accountability. I have no quarrel with that.

However, there is a significant difference between holding a leader accountable for the performance of his government and attributing personal authorship to promises that were conceived, drafted, and launched while he was still behind bars. To conflate the two is to blur the distinction between responsibility and authorship.

It is like what I pointed out before this about Jalan Palestine, which was launched by Muhyiddin Yasin as the Prime Minister, but Anwar was blamed for it. The same with the launch of the stamps in support of Palestinian cause during the war in Gaza. The special stamp titled “Palestin Merdeka,” has been in circulation since 2023, before Anwar became the country's prime minister. 

Have you ever asked why when the road sign was launched by Muhyiddin and the same for the stamps being launched by Pos Malaysia as its corporate social responsibilty initiative since 2023, every missile is only torpedoed at PMX? My answer is simple: PMX is a major threat to those who are corrupt, who still have a lot of flush funds to use. After all, if you are in their position, why would you want to think of keeping the funds instead of using part of it to topple PMX? They have managed to do it to Azam Baki. Do you think they would not go after PMX's head? Do you still think that the things posted on social media came from ordinary Ali, Ah Kow and Muthusamy? Many of these posts were all well-crafted. Their target was to lead you into the bonfire. Please reflect, my friend: 

Let's be rationale

More importantly, even if we accept that the mantle of accountability rests on Anwar's shoulders today, a fair-minded observer must ask an equally important question: Does the political landscape actually permit the implementation of every promise that was made in 2018?

The PH of 2018 was a different political creature. It campaigned as a coalition seeking power. The Anwar administration today leads a unity government comprising parties with different ideologies, competing constituencies, and often conflicting priorities. Governing in such an environment inevitably requires compromise, negotiation, and political trade-offs. Not every promise that appears straightforward on paper remains feasible in the realities of coalition governance.

Therefore, if we are serious about evaluating Anwar Ibrahim, we should judge him based on the agenda that bears his own fingerprints—the MADANI framework. That is the vision he personally articulated, championed, and asked to be measured against.

Criticise MADANI if it falls short. Scrutinise its outcomes. Demand results. Hold Anwar accountable for the policies he advances as Prime Minister.

But historical accuracy and intellectual honesty require us to acknowledge a simple fact: the 2018 manifesto was not written by a man who was free to sit at the drafting table. It was launched while he was still in prison. 

In the end, fairness demands that we distinguish between the promises of a coalition, the realities of governing, and the performance of the leader who inherited both. Only then can criticism carry moral weight and analytical credibility.