The Asian Renaissance

Abstract

It is not my habit to make public statements on political leaders and I usuaHy prefer to hold my views private. But with my close friend and brother, Anwar Ibrahim, the deputy prime minister and finance minister of Malaysia, I have no hesitation. I have known him for over 20 years and he has always been a model of virtue because he combines truthfulness with sincerity. Thi shows in his actions both personally and professionally. From being an idealistic young man he grew into one of the most important political leaders of Malaysia. The good qualities he had when he was a promising young leader have not left him, in pite of the whithering effect politics can have on one's character. Anwar is now just as honest and sincere, humble and charitable as he was when I first met him over 20 year ago. Throughout this time, he has been strict with him elf and generous with others. demonstrating a true nobility. Above all, he has striven according to the dictum that "there is no right superior to the right of truth." Unfortunately, too few people have striven for the truth which Anwar has pursued, leading us to the crisis in the world today. In the East, failure to think has lead to passive decay wmle in the West, thinking too much and often wrongly ...