The Asian Renaissance By Anwar Ibrahim. Malaysia: Times Books Internalional, 1996, 159pp.

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 ...