Win or lose, Anwar is still top draw

Whatever the outcome of Monday’s High Court verdict, one thing is paramount and crystal clear: PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and the Pakatan coalition will come out of it smelling like roses.
No matter how you look at it, a guilty verdict will only strengthen PKR and the coalition’s resolve to ensure that it makes a fair go at GE 13.
One pundit puts it this way: “ Umno and BN are already on the back foot with this trial. Anwar seems to have managed to turn the sordid affair into his favour.”
In the (likely) event that the charismatic leader is found guilty, the question that will remain is whether Anwar will be granted a stay of execution until an appeal is lodged.

And will he be allowed to still keep his parliamentary seat and campaign for the coming elections.
If the court decides not to grant him a stay, it will merely add to the long held perception that it was a one-sided trial aimed at keeping him out of the Opposition charge during GE 13 no matter what the cost is.
The current perception and general thinking seems to be that without Anwar in the lead, the opposition coalition will be headless and without a master tactician.
But, curious as it may be, the BN and Umno have actually provided Anwar with the ultimate tactic: martyrdom.
Incalculable towards the opposition march to Putrajaya would be the silent, but sure-fire sympathy votes that will follow an Anwar guilty verdict.
Shrewd politician
Anwar, who is one of the most shrewdest politician in the country, is acutely away of the predicament that the ruling regime has put themselves in.
One senior Umno official’s description of the party’s dilemma is that its is “hoping for the best from a not so pretty set of scenarios” best surmises the predicament for the BN.
But their best bet would be to find Anwar guilty, jail him, deny a stay of execution or bail and let the mainstream media go town in the rural areas with the conviction, throw in a couple of vox pop and sound bites on how everyone knew he was guilty anyway to add credibility to the affair and hope the Anwar charisma and factor will go away.
Unfortunately it may not as easy as that. Martyrdom confers sainthood and with it sympathy.
While Anwar maybe incarnated, his recorded voice certainly will be heard at ceremahs and videos prepared much earlier in anticipation of a guilty verdict will surely be played up and down the country.
In fact, South Africa’s Nelson Mandela became larger than life and his popularity swelled during his long incarceration, during which time his supporters and the anti-apartheid movement gained not just a national following but brought with it international sympathy.
One wonders how the BN, with all its 54 years of machinations , underhanded tactics and cloak and dagger skulduggery could have managed to box themselves in with a loss of not just face but also credibility and votes to boot, no matter what the outcome of Monday's verdict may be.
But one thing is quite certain. Anwar Ibrahim will still be the top draw and attention getter in the GE campaigns for both the opposition and the BN… but for completely different reason.

David Anandarajoo reads Malaysia Chronicle