Anwar, Lim use letters as political tool

Anwar, Lim use letters as political tool

By Ranjan Roy

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Their political voices muted by prison
walls, two of Malaysia's most prominent dissidents have struck up
an unusual correspondence, exchanging letters from their cells in
an intimate dialog about life and politics.

But copies of the letters, distributed to the media and
political activists, have also acted as a way of publicizing the
shared plight of unlikely pen pals who, though they have rarely
shaken hands, now embrace a common cause.

The more celebrated of the two -- ousted deputy prime minister
Anwar Ibrahim -- is being tried on four charges of abuse of
office. He faces prosecution on another six charges, including
sodomy.

His correspondent, opposition member of Parliament Lim Guan
Eng, sits in a dingy cell with only a ventilation hole in the
ceiling. His crime: asking why a powerful government politician
was not detained in a statutory rape case.

About a month ago former political foes Anwar and Lim
exchanged letters of greetings during Ramadhan and the Chinese
New Year.

Although the letters have received some notice, Malaysian
papers -- which are guarded about criticism -- have largely
ignored the correspondence that has been smuggled in and out of
the prisons by family visitors.

"In some ways, our incarceration has helped open the eyes of
Malaysians to the injustices of our system, and thereby to rouse
them from their complacency and encourage them to participate
more meaningfully in the political process," Anwar wrote to Lim
from his cell.

He quoted Chinese philosophers and wrote about the challenge
of transcending "the politics of race to enhancing and protecting
the dignity of man."

In his reply, Lim, who is the first sitting lawmaker to be
imprisoned, reflected on how the two had been "pulled and pushed
by the ebb and flow of history."

"We took divergent paths and were headed toward the opposite
ends of the political spectrum. Yet, both of us ended in prison
-- victims of injustice and gross abuse of power," said Lim, who
began his prison term a few weeks before Anwar was dismissed.

For half a decade Anwar, rising from a Malay Muslim radical
base, was heir to Mahathir's office, often governing in his
absence.

Lim Guan, a Chinese social activist, followed his father's
footsteps into opposing the Malay nationalism that is the
foundation of Mahathir's governing party and the system that
Anwar represented until his Sept. 2 sacking.

The latest letter came this weekend from Lim on the birthday
of his father, Lim Kit Siang, the opposition leader in
Parliament.

Nearly a generation ago, the elder Lim was in jail for
opposing the government and imprisoned again for 18 months by
Mahathir during a crackdown on the opposition in 1987. His son is
also serving an 18-month sentence.

In prose dripping with pathos of separation from his 3-year-
old son, Lim said: "Like me when I was 8, little Whay Khai cannot
understand the journey their fathers have to take."

"However, I hope that little Whay Khai can understand that no
matter how much I want to, I cannot come back to him until my
journey is complete," he said in the letter carrying birthday
wishes for his father over the weekend.

Had they stayed on course, Anwar would likely have ended up
dependent on the Malay majority, and as a leader of the mainly
Chinese Democratic Action Party, Lim may have received little
Malay support.

As they struggle to steer Malaysia away from race-based
politics, Lim and Anwar say Mahathir's promise of democracy has
been subverted by a virtual gag on public discussion of issues
deemed sensitive by the government.

Mahathir's United Malays National Organization has ruled since
1957 in an unequal partnership with parties that claim to be sole
representatives of the Chinese and Indian minorities.

While Anwar's case has drawn world condemnation, Lim's case is
little known outside Asia.

But last week, an international delegation of lawmakers said
Lim's conditions of imprisonment "do not meet relevant
international standards".

It was "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment," said a
statement by the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The government shot back.

"Don't expect them (prisoners) to receive accommodation and
treatment similar to those provided by three-, four- or five-star
hotels," said Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Anwar's successor to the
deputy prime minister's office.