AN-WAR OR ANU-AR!!!! PART1

The year 1974, I was a freshie in a local Malaysia U, anti establishment was the buzz word, you're not cool if you don't go against the government of the day.

All local Universities were given autonomy of their own within their own compound. Student corners were provided for student leaders or anybody to horn their oratory skills. Topics unlimited, you can speak on anything. If you bombarding establishment you will get ready audiences in numbers. That was where people such as Anwar Ibrahim, Hishamuddin Rais, Sanusi Junid to name a few were born as student leaders.

Being young and restless I was easily influenced by their ideologies. The biggest impact was from AI. AI was no longer a student, he has graduated few years earlier but he was still very active engaging with students in all local Us. He was very charismatic and a great orator, without doubt he was the leader with great influence over Us student.

That was the year he came to my campus with a bunch of other leaders from other local Us with sack-full of UBI GADONG claiming the tuber was the staple for peoples in Baling. Those people were so poor they could not afford proper meals. All because latex and rubber prices were so low all the blames were on the government. Without checking facts and merit of their stories, in fact we were not bordered to check, everything told to us by AI and the gang were taken as truth.

When we were told to go to Merdeka Square KL to demonstrate, without hesitation we went there. My campus was almost empty and same with all other campuses around KL. We were all in down town KL to protest the government. That was the biggest national student demonstration in Malaysia's history to date. That was the power of AI oratory.

That was the time that I ever came face to face with him the closest, I was about 2 feet sitting in-front of him in the compound of National Mosque; we were re-grouping after being tear-gassed by FRU at Merdeka square. He was giving a speech to urge us to continue with the protest. All of a sudden FRU fired tear- gas from outside the mosque, a gas canister fell right in-front of AI, he was overcame by the smog, Hishamuddin standing beside him collapsed. I kicked the canister into water pond nearby. We help to carry the weaken leaders into the mosque building. Police stormed the mosque, AI and some leaders were caught. Hishamuddin manage to escape with helps from some of us so did I.

I was one of his biggest supporter and follower until 1998.