Anwar's dangerous dance with Umno

After registering as voters at the age of 25, my friends and I were focused on one thing: dethroning Umno/Barisan Nasional and shaping a better future for us and our future generations.

For years, we remained focused on this and finally, at the age of 48 in 2018, it became a reality.

However, it was short-lived and we thought we had lost our only chance and that we would never ever have the opportunity to oust Umno again.

However, Lady Luck was on our side and last year, Umno was almost wiped out following the general election.

None of us in our wildest dreams imagined that Pakatan Harapan, in which we had placed so much hope, would extend their hand to Umno and jump into bed together.

As if this was not shocking enough, they even appointed Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as the deputy prime minister – someone who is riddled with corruption charges and whose cases are still pending in court.

To many of us, this seemed nothing less than an act of sheer desperation by someone who would do anything just to become prime minister.

Fine, all said and done, against all odds and the wishes of many, Anwar Ibrahim finally became prime minister – something he had wanted for years.

Back then, the Reformasi dream was real and we all hoped in it for a better future. We were looking for much greater things now that Anwar was finally at the helm.

However, seven months have passed since he became the prime minister and it is time to ask ourselves what has been achieved.

It was all about Reformasi, but seriously, where are the reforms? To many of us, the government still seems to be on shaky ground and Anwar's sole focus is to cling on to power.

There is no political stability at all, and at any time there could be a shift in power, again.

Anwar's grasp on power rests on his aces with Umno, and everyone knows that it is a party not to be trusted.

Many of us still cannot accept Umno, while I am sure the sentiments are even stronger with the Chinese and even the Indians.

Anwar's entire focus is on playing musical chairs with Umno to ensure that he stays in power. One cannot pay attention to other pressing matters if his concentration is centred elsewhere.

We laymen have witnessed no positive change in our lives: inflation rates continue to spiral and the ringgit is still on a downward trend.

There are no strong economic and financial strategies in place and the overall situation in the country is still deteriorating.

The price of daily essentials continues to rise while the government continues to flip-flop in its focus, causing further confusion and distrust among investors.

This is the reality of things. Sadly, many of my friends and colleagues have been forced to mortgage their assets and sell their land in order to survive. 

They were so financially stricken that they had no choice. Anwar has travelled all over the place and claims to have drawn investments, but to the naked eye, there is nothing.

The people are still suffering and many are losing hope.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.