An Icon Or An Idol ?

Published on
Friday, August 22, 2008

A Thorn In The Flesh, A Pain In The Arse.

Hantu Laut

Personality cult have existed from time immemorial.It generally started with hero worshipping a person which later can transform to personality cult when the person attained political power.This deification can eventually lead to dictatorship or absolute tyranny.

History has given us cult of personality in the regimes of Stalin,Hitler,Mao,Sadam Hussein,Kim II Sung,Pol Pot and others.It's more common in a totalitarian system but have also been known to exist in some democracies.Eva Peron and her husband Juan Peron are examples of personality cult in a democracy.

These type of leaders were presented as god-like and seen as infallible by those with blind loyalty.The degree of blind loyalty can extend from giving simple moral support to committing atrocities,murders and genocide to keep such leaders in power.

Since gaining independence Malaysia has not had such leader and even the longest serving Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad would not fall into that category.

The support for Anwar Ibrahim is dangerously turning into a personality cult.Some of his supporters wouldn't give second thought to resort to violence to deliver their message.Read more.....

From Malaysian Insider:
What does Anwar really want?

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 — Sleepy Batu Caves became a hot spot of controversy recently — all because of a 12.2m-high painted plywood cut-out of a smiling Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, in a blue shirt and red tie and with his right hand held high. The opposition leader's supporters in the area had put up the RM5,000 replica of him in time for Hari Raya Aidilfitri. But it quickly drew flak from the Mufti of Perlis and Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Mohd Ali Rustam. They accused Anwar's supporters of idol worship — and thus, being anti-Muslim and anti-Malay, since idol worship is anathema in Islam.

The cut-out has since been dismantled, but its exaggerated homage does raise a question about Anwar: is he keener on becoming the next prime minister of Malaysia than on shaping a credible alternative government?

Those aims are not mutually exclusive, of course. But since leading the opposition coalition to victory in five states in the March general election, Anwar has spoken of little else besides getting enough ruling coalition MPs to cross over to the opposition so he could become prime minister. He boasted that he would accomplish this feat by Sept 16, the anniversary of Malaysia's founding in 1963. The day has come and gone — and Anwar is still not yet prime minister.

Whose cause is he more interested in championing: his or the people's? Many Malaysians now say that it is Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, not Anwar, who has what it takes to be prime minister of Malaysia. Read more....