KUALA LUMPUR: All royalties from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s new book will be channelled to poor students.
Anwar declared this during his speech at the launching and book-signing ceremony of his latest book “Rethinking Ourselves” at the Tsutaya Bookstores at Pavilion Bukit Jalil here on Sunday (Dec 7).
He said that the book was published by three publishers for worldwide distribution: Hurst London (for the UK, US and European market), Penguin (Asia) and the Hong Kong University Press (China and East Asia).
“I would get a lot of royalties. I declare that every sen of the royalty from this book will be spent on poor students, and I believe the sum would be quite substantial.
“The price was determined by the publisher.
“My staff will ensure that all royalty received will be for the poor students immediately,’ said Anwar.
He also stated that the book touches on the need for politicians to shift their mindset, focusing more on reforms than on clinging to power.
“This book is made up of my jottings during my incarceration in Sungai Buloh Prison and is dedicated to my wife, Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
“I discussed the ideas pertaining to multi-racial relationships between people. This is not an autobiography and not about Anwar per se.
“In my writings, I was thinking about the problems and challenges of fighting racism and corruption, on what postcolonialism is and how to regain composure and dignity as a nation. How can we survive in the face of all these complexities and challenges of the times? When I grew up, there was no talk of digital transition or energy transitions,” said Anwar.
He further stated that he hoped that the book would change the mindset on corruption.
“Political leaders are sometimes the last to think about change or reform, and usually it is only about power. How can there be change? How do we make people understand that corruption is a menace that destroys society? I also admit that it is not easy because the corrupt are often very influential.
“Technology and machines cannot decide everything for us - they may have the expertise, but they cannot decide on our values,” said Anwar.
Speaking to the media soon after, Anwar said that he was not hitting out at anyone when he mentioned “politicians obsessed with power”.
“It is a general remark. It is very difficult to convince people to make a change as change is an imperative,” said Anwar.
The book is currently available in its first edition at RM95.
