Steven;
<<Escalation in Malaysia, though the numbers of people involved still seem relatively small. Interesting to see where it goes.>>
There is a sense I have of a growing boldness among folks here in terms of voicing their dissatisfaction. I won't say who but I have a friend who is relatively highly placed in UMNO. He is the epitome of the UMNO party line. He is also a former highly placed individual in government and has, for years, "fed well at the trough". However his recent comments to me tell me that the disenchantment with the status quo runs very deep. I believe it is deeper then simple dissatisfaction with economic conditions.
Locals have taken to wearing a white ribbon on their chest to express dissatisfaction with Anwar's treatment. The local BAR association has passed a very strong resolution calling for dismantlement of the ISA (Internal Security Act) under which so many of the regime's foes have been arrested. I see many of these ribbons, including a limo driver recently who works for a firm controlled by Mahatir's son.
When I posted predictions on New Year's Eve last year I said I thought there would be a shake up in UMNO.
Message 3063835
I remember thinking at the time that UMNO would sort this out relatively quietly. Only Mahatir's stubborness (and raw power) is making it more traumatic then it should be. It will be costly. Very very costly.
More from FEER on what is happening here:
reprinted for personal use only
A Single Spark
The protest movement ignited by Anwar's ouster has grown to encompass a litany of other grievances and a range of diverse groups. It's likely to be fuelled by Anwar's upcoming trial and the Apec summit.
By Murray Hiebert with S. Jayasankaran in Kuala Lumpur
October 29, 1998
M alaysians are perfecting a new form of protest: the "shop-and-shout" technique. For the second Saturday in a row, a crowd of what looked like ordinary shoppers on October 17 transformed a main street in central Kuala Lumpur into a massive demonstration calling for Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to resign. As police looked on, several thousand people--mostly Malays, some Indians--pumped the air with their fists and chanted slogans calling for the abolition of the Internal Security Act and demanding justice for former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Passengers in some of the cars, buses and motorbikes that passed between the demonstrators honked their horns, flashed the protest movement's new thumbs-up sign and waved pictures of the imprisoned Anwar. The crowd erupted in wild cheers when Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah, suddenly popped through the sunroof of a car and started waving. By the time the protest ended six hours later, at the king's palace about five kilometres away, police had arrested 133 people. Thirty five of them were treated in hospitals after claiming police had beaten them.
"This is the turning point," says a man who identified himself as a former police officer turned businessman. Standing at the front of the demonstrators and waving for the traffic to keep moving, he added: "This is no longer about Anwar, it's about justice."
Seven weeks after Anwar's ouster and a month after his arrest, protests against his treatment and calls for political reform appear to be picking up steam rather than fading away. A broad cross-section of Malaysians are stepping up their calls for reformasi (reform) and lifting of the Internal Security Act which allows detention without trial.
Coupled with sharp criticism of Anwar's treatment from Malaysia's neighbours and other leaders expected to come to Kuala Lumpur for a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum next month, the continuing protests have confronted Mahathir with what could become the worst political crisis of his 17-year rule.
The protest movement is made up of a diverse grouping of Muslim and social activists, intellectuals, artists, students, non-governmental organizations and opposition political parties--from the Islamic party Pas to the Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party. This is their only common cause; many of them are at odds with each other on most other issues. "What's significant is that there are thousands of people who are nameless who are prepared to have their say, go to rallies, go on the Internet or to pass resolutions at the Bar Council," says political scientist Khoo Boo Teik of the Science University of Malaysia in Penang. "People have cracked through a certain fear to voice criticism of the government."
According to surveys conducted for the ruling United Malays National Organization, seven out of 10 Malays--who make up 61% of the population and dominate Malaysian politics--are unhappy over the way Anwar was sacked. Some party analysts are concerned that if general elections were called now, the ruling coalition could lose its two-thirds majority for the first time in almost three decades.
A member of the Umno's Supreme Council, dispatched around the country to defend Anwar's sacking, confides that he is careful not to do his job too zealously. He says he talks in general terms about the need for justice and concludes his speeches by saying that people should pray that truth will prevail. "That way you don't get booed," he says.
"Recent events have brought the judiciary, the police, the press, the total system into question," says an Umno division chief. The official, who asked not to be identified, says "the only way out is for the leadership to take a hard look at its credibility index." For Umno to repair its image, he adds, "will require the leadership of a more credible team as we approach the next general elections," due by April 2000. "If Mahathir announces a new team, then people will realize that he's in his final term and may step down soon."
The protests against the government take many different forms. A journalist waiting to register his foreign maid at the Immigration Department saw an official shout "Reformasi!"--a cry adopted from the Indonesians whose demonstrations toppled President Suharto in May. "Reformasi!" another official yelled back. Around Kuala Lumpur, many people wear white ribbons as symbols of justice--part of a campaign launched by a coalition of NGOs and opposition parties called Gagasan, a Malay word meaning plan or idea. Several nights a week in cities and towns around the country, thousands of people show up for rallies organized by a similar coalition, dubbed Gerak (movement), to listen to speakers condemning the ISA and injustice.
"The scale of the protests is unprecedented in Malaysia in the last couple of decades," says political scientist Khoo. "The way the Anwar case has been handled has triggered a lot of latent criticism from many quarters. Many have decided it's time to speak out and show they're unhappy with the government."
The protesters are raising a litany of political and economic grievances. "I see generalized opposition to Mahathir's rule," says social scientist and columnist Rustam Sani. "We have a flood of rejection of what's been going on. The issue of cronyism is coming out, along with demands for freedom and democracy. Anwar is only the symbol of what went wrong," Rustam says. "People now are criticizing the whole system."
Malaysia's abrupt slide into recession after more than 10 years of growth has played a key role in bolstering the opposition movement. "It wouldn't have happened if there hadn't been a decade of prosperity, then an economic meltdown," says Chandra Muzaffar, a University of Malaya political scientist and critic of Mahathir's handling of Anwar. "Any abuse of power in the midst of an economic slowdown generates strong feelings."
What exactly are the protesters demanding? "The transitional goal is that Mahathir step down," explains Tian Chua, a 35-year-old human-rights activist and coordinator of the Gagasan coalition. "But building democracy is more than replacing Mahathir. Mahathir stepping down would give us a new generation without which there's no room for discussion. But changing the political leader is only the beginning. If we see Mahathir's resignation as the goal, history will repeat itself."
The demonstrators are encouraged by criticism from abroad over the treatment of Anwar, who appeared in court a week after his arrest with a black eye and other bruises. Some of the strongest words have come from Philippine President Joseph Estrada and Indonesian President B.J. Habibie, infringing a policy among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations not to comment openly on the internal affairs of member states.
Habibie and Estrada are both personal friends of Anwar and recently met his 18-year-old daughter, Nurul Izzah. Estrada has also said he would like to visit Anwar in jail when he attends the Apec summit in the Malaysian capital in mid-November.
The Apec meeting will be held in the middle of Anwar's trial on sodomy and corruption charges, scheduled to begin on November 2. The presence of leaders of the United States and 15 other countries will keep the Anwar issue alive internationally for at least the next month. Washington has already downgraded President Bill Clinton's Apec visit to "unofficial" status to show high-level concern.
Political scientist Chandra believes the international attention was a key factor in the government's decision to free Anwar from detention under the ISA. Local newspapers ran pictures of Anwar having an elaborate lunch with a senior police official before being moved to a regular prison. "The whole thing has become internationalized," Chandra says. "They can no longer draw into a cocoon."
To be sure, Mahathir retains a firm grip on the levers of power--and was confident enough of his control to leave the country in mid-October. On a five-day visit to Japan, he invited Japanese journalists to visit Malaysia to correct misconceptions created, he said, by international television networks. "Do not trust CNN or CNBC. They have a different agenda and they tell lies in order to promote their agenda," he said. CNN and CNBC (which is partly owned by Dow Jones & Co., owner of the REVIEW) are "motivated by greed," Mahathir added. "The power they wield has corrupted them absolutely."
How will the crisis play out? Popular ire may well dissipate if the economy starts to pick up, as several economists think it will next year, thanks to government spending on infrastructure projects. Mahathir maintains that despite the protests, Malaysia will not succumb to "mob rule." Quite a few people--mainly non-Malays--agree that taking to the streets is a high-risk option in multi-ethnic Malaysia, which suffered racial riots in 1969. Warns an ethnic-Indian accountant in Kuala Lumpur: "You're playing with fire." |
