PARTI Keadilan Nasional and its allies are understandably in a hurry to abandon the arsenic-poisoning claim.

Whether or not, they can wriggle their way out of this mess will depend on former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's next political move or stunt.

If the diversion is massive, everyone will be talking about the next issue and forget the poisoning episode.

The biggest casualty will then be truth and objectivity.

I am a retired civil servant and speak candidly without worrying about my image or people's perception of me.

And on the poisoning-episode, I say Anwar ought to apologise to his supporters for misleading them. His supporters have stood by him since day one.

Some neglected their duties and families in order to express their support for Anwar.

Many of them must have sincerely thought that Anwar had been victimised.

They felt sorry for the man. A number of them decided to contribute their unfortunately jaundiced views to the websites.

Others went to the streets to protest about the treatment of Anwar.

A political divide was erected between friends and family members.

The poisoning allegation was further proof of conspiracy against Anwar, so they alleged.

All that and, now, reports showing Anwar was never poisoned.

Let me quote the latest edition of the Far Eastern Economic Review: "The result stunned many Anwar supporters, particularly because opposition leaders had jumped so strongly on the accusation that Anwar had been poisoned with arsenic."

It quoted a senior opposition leader as saying: "It will be difficult to explain to that critical mass, the fence sitters."

The fence-sitters will naturally be vindicated for doubting Anwar's glorified credentials.

They have not been wronged. They suspected Anwar's credentials all along. It is Anwar's supporters who had been misled.

Anwar or his wife Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail ... must now come clean and salvage some lost pride and apologise to their supporters. Never mind how the supporters would now vote. Honour and dignity must take precedence.
 
A. Razak Kassim
Ipoh