POLITICS: Anwar used the wrong allegory says Goh Hoe Hoe of Kuala Lumpur

RECENTLY, while officiating at a Chinese New Year open house organised by Parti Keadilan Rakyat Bandar Tun Razak, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that the Pakatan Rakyat route to Putrajaya, which is full of obstacles, is similar to the classic novel Journey to the West on the travels of Hsuan Chuan, a famous monk of the Tang Dynasty.

I am not sure what drove Anwar to make this misleading statement. Was it because of his inadequate knowledge of the historical development of Buddhism in China or was it because he wanted to use the famous novel to gather attention and support from the Chinese community in Bandar Tun Razak?

There are no parallels between Pakatan's plan to form the government and the storyline of the novel.
Apart from travelling quickly to India to study Buddhism and taking back the complete set of Buddhist scriptures to China for the benefit of the people, Hsuan Chuan selflessly devoted most of his life to translating Buddhist scripture from Sanskrit to Chinese.

He even turned down an offer by the emperor of Tang for him to become prime minister upon his return from India.

Hsuan Chuan gave up fame and power to cultivate himself and educate people, whereas Anwar has been working endlessly to achieve his dream of becoming prime minister. As such, it is inappropriate for Anwar to use Journey to the West to illustrate his point.


Read more: POLITICS: Anwar used the wrong allegory - Letters to the Editor - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/politics-anwar-used-the-wrong-allegory-1.221900#ixzz2LUvJeEFC