Malaysia: Parallels and differences<\/p>\n
Malaysia is not Indonesia. Although the economic crisis has
\nforced many to be more careful with their money, and cut back on
\nunnecessary luxuries, that is a far cry from the food shortages
\nand starvation in many parts of Indonesia that triggered the
\nrioting which brought down Soeharto. The average income in
\nMalaysia is still more than four times the Indonesian figure.<\/p>\n
Another important difference is the absence of the ethnic
\ntension that erupted into such violence against Indonesia's
\nethnic Chinese, so accelerating Soeharto's downfall. Kuala
\nLumpur's long-established bumiputra-first policy -- of
\ndiscriminating in favor of ethnic Malays -- means there is
\nnothing like the same resentment toward the nation's Chinese
\ncommunity.<\/p>\n
But the biggest difference is between the political astuteness
\nof these two leaders. While Soeharto had his skills, these pale
\ninto insignificance alongside those of Dr. Mahathir in
\nmaintaining the support of countless political factions.<\/p>\n
His grip on the ruling party, UMNO, is so ironclad that no
\nother politician of any substance has dared to speak out against
\nhim. Even the party's youth wing, which previously supported
\nAnwar, has barely protested at the detention of its leader, Ahmad
\nZahid Hamidi, and is likely to fall meekly back into Dr.
\nMahathir's camp.<\/p>\n
None of this is to deny that Anwar's high-profile campaign
\nagainst his firing has had some effect. Tens, possibly hundreds,
\nof thousands of middle-class Malaysians have been radicalized by
\nevents of the past few weeks and discovered the art of street
\nprotests. In the long term this poses severe dangers for Dr.
\nMahathir, as do the delayed effects of his isolationist economic
\npolicies.<\/p>\n
But those who now predict a swift, Soeharto-style, palace coup
\nin Kuala Lumpur are missing the point. Each country must follow
\nits own road toward reform and, in Malaysia, that path still has
\na long way to go.<\/p>\n
-- The South China Morning Post, Hong Kong<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/malaysia-parallels-and-differences-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }