Relaxing the rules

Malaysia's Human Rights Commission is unlikely to persuade the country's government to scrap the Internal Security Act when it is such a useful tool for suppressing dissent. Nor is Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad enthusiastic about calls for a sweeping review of laws that restrict press freedom or curtail political rallies.

But it was he who set up the commission -- known as Suhakam -- and he will have to live with its findings. There were suspicions, given its origins, that the commission would produce a bland report. But it has certainly not done so. The authors, who include Musa Hitam, former deputy prime minister and former chairman of the UN Commission on Human Rights, recognize that the growing demand for greater political freedom cannot be ignored indefinitely. The jailing of former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim let the genie out of the bottle, and even a controlling leader like Dr. Mahathir has to bow to pressure when it becomes unassailable.

Significantly, the report dismisses the familiar theme that human rights in Asia means just a daily meal. For an educated and increasingly sophisticated society, "a full stomach is no longer enough" says Suhakam. Therein lies the problem. It is easy enough to satisfy the wants of the population when the economy is growing, but affluence creates a different set of needs, and governments -- however reluctantly -- must yield to them eventually.

Dr. Mahathir is rightly praised as the architect of Malaysian prosperity, but there is a darker side to the picture, which recent events have brought to the fore. Ethnic strife and growing religious fundamentalism are symbols of a wider discontent. If the nation's voice is silenced, it will eventually find other means of expression. Relaxing repressive rules could take the tension out of a volatile situation.

-- The South China Morning Post, Hong Kong