Malaysia struggles for revival as social unrest grows

Malaysia struggles for revival as social unrest grows

By Gwen Benjamin

KUALA LUMPUR (DPA): For Malaysia, 1998 was an unsettling year.
The country has been struggling to revive its slumping economy
while trying to suppress growing political unrest arising from
the sacking and arrest of deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Since Anwar's Sept. 2 sacking as deputy premier and finance
minister, the capital has been shaken by anti-government
demonstrations, with protesters clashing with police and
demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

In protests unseen in the country in almost three decades,
thousands of Anwar supporters and anti-government demonstrators
have staged noisy protests at mosques and along the city's
streets calling for "reformasi" or reforms.

"Reformasi" was the rallying cry of the charismatic Anwar
after he was sacked from office. In the three weeks before his
September 20 arrest, he toured the country, drawing tens of
thousands to his rallies where he denounced Mahathir's 17-year-
old administration for being riddled with "corruption, cronyism
and nepotism."

Malaysians, unused to challenging authority, were disturbed by
scenes of riot police shooting jets of chemically-laced water and
tear gas on the mainly Moslem Malay protesters, as well as by the
sight of protesters, who included women, being chased, beaten and
herded into trucks.

Local human rights activists and non-governmental groups,
which have long lamented the lack of democratic rights, press
freedom and accountability under Mahathir, slammed the police
crackdown as well as the arrest of Anwar and his supporters.

Anwar's arrest under the Draconian Internal Security Act,
which allows for detention without trial, and his alleged beating
while in police custody - he turned up in court with a black eye
- drew international and regional condemnation against Malaysia.

United States Vice President Al Gore, attending an Asia-
Pacific summit in Kuala Lumpur in November, openly backed the
anti-government protesters, calling them the "brave people" of
Malaysia.

Anwar is now on trial for corruption and sodomy, which he
denies and blames on a high-level political conspiracy
masterminded by Mahathir to destroy his political career. If
found guilty, Anwar faces up to 20 years in jail and will be
disqualified from running in elections.

Anwar also claims his sacking came because he opposed
Mahathir's plans to use state and pension funds to bail out huge
corporations, linked to the ruling elite, which were saddled with
huge debts caused by the region's economic crisis.

The open defiance of Anwar and his supporters poses the most
serious challenge to Mahathir since the premier almost lost in
party polls in 1987 as president of the ruling United Malays
National Organization (UMNO) party. Anwar was sacked as deputy
UMNO president.

UMNO is the dominant member of Mahathir's Barisan Nasional
(National Front) coalition government. The multi-racial Barisan
has ruled Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957.

Mahathir, 73, has rejected demands that he quit, saying he
needs to tackle the economic crisis which has sent Malaysia
sliding into its first recession in 13 years. GDP growth for this
year is set to contract 4.8 per cent, against last year's 7.7 per
cent expansion.

He also condemned the anti-government protesters for stirring
up unrest which would frighten away foreign investors and hamper
the government's efforts to revive the economy.

"What kind of reformasi do they want? Do we want our country
to end up like other countries where the races cannot live in
peace?" he said recently, adding that those seeking political
change should do so legally through elections. Mahathir has to
call for polls by early 2000.

Malaysia suffered bloody racial riots in 1969 between the
majority Malays and richer Chinese, but pro-Malay government
policies in business and education have since kept racial ties
harmonious.

The Chinese community, the second biggest racial group and
numbering around five million of the 21 million population, have
privately voiced fears over the anti-government protests,
especially since "reformasi" protests in Indonesia deteriorated
into anti-Chinese riots. The protests in Malaysia have so far
remained within police control.

Anwar's sacking and arrest "marks a watershed" in Malaysian
politics, said political scientist and social critic Chandra
Muzaffar.

He said Islamic egalitarianism, mass education and the
emergence of a Malay middle class have eroded one of the main
characteristics of Malaysian politics, which is "unquestioning
acceptance of, and acquiescence with" the authority of the state.

"The ability to overcome fear is an important prerequisite for
political change," he said, adding that the Anwar crisis has
forever changed Malay political culture and Malaysian democracy.