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Desperate Mahathir gives Malaysia b
- Subject: Desperate Mahathir gives Malaysia b
- From: suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 02 Oct 1998 01:10:00
Headlines
Desperate Mahathir gives
Malaysia black eye
The bashing of Anwar Ibrahim while in
police custody has unveiled the level to
which Malaysian authorities would stoop in
persecuting him, writes Steven Gan.
When Malaysia's former No 2, Anwar
Ibrahim, walked into court this week
sporting a swollen eye and bruised arm,
die-hard government supporters wasted no
time to put a spin on this rather
embarrassing fact. One explained: ''Anwar
hit himself on the eye and in so doing hurt
his arm.'' After all, said another, it was his
right arm and left eye which were wounded.
How neat. And that appeared to be Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad's line of
defence too: Anwar's injuries, he alluded,
were ''self-inflicted''.
Over the past few weeks, incredulity has
clearly been stretched to the limit. Accused
by Mahathir for a litany of crimes -- sodomy,
sedition, corruption, treason -- Anwar is
now said to have bashed himself to gain
sympathy. On Tuesday, Anwar testified in
court that when he was arrested some 12
days, police had handcuffed, blindfolded
and beaten him unconscious. As a result,
he could hardly open his eye the next day.
If anything, this latest twist should prompt
more people to open their eyes to the
creeping authoritarianism which has
marked Mahathir's 17-year rule. At least
one man did. Chandra Muzaffar, a
university professor who was a former
Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee -- the
same draconian law which Anwar is
arrested -- had in the past defended the
police against criticisms of brutality. When
a few NGOs sought to organise a public
tribunal on police violence two years ago,
Chandra rushed to the police's defence.
But after Anwar's disclosure in court, he
changed his mind. ''I must confess that I'm
totally disillusioned with the police. There is
no justification at all for subjecting any
detainee or any human being in police
custody to assault or torture,'' he said.
''Indeed, the assault upon the former deputy
prime minister has set many hitherto
passive and uncommitted Malaysians
thinking. They are asking: What is
happening to our country? Have we lost our
sense of decency? How is it that the men
who manage the security of the nation have
become so cruel and so inhuman? Have
we deteriorated to such a despicable level
that we are no longer distinguishable from
Pinochet's Chile and Abacha's Nigeria?''
That so many Malaysians had wool pulled
over their eyes was in part due to the
muzzled media. Operating as government
mouthpieces, the media has helped put a
gloss on the regime. For example, on
Monday, Malaysian leading
English-language newspaper New Straits
Times, in a rambling editorial ''Without fear
or favour'' defended the government
against charges that Anwar would be hard
pressed to get a fair trial.
''There is no reason for Anwar to doubt the
judiciary's integrity as it is the same one
which he presented his grievances with and
successfully secured an injunction against
the publication and circulation of the book
entitled '50 Reasons Why Anwar Cannot be
Prime Minister','' it stated.
Not mentioned in the editorial, however,
was that the judge who gave the injunction
on the poison-pen book which contained a
dizzying array of allegations against Anwar,
was subsequently transferred. Also not
mentioned was that despite the court ruling,
the book was openly distributed to the party
faithful during the general assembly of the
ruling United Malays National Organisation
(Umno) in a bid to malign Anwar.
Not surprisingly, many Malaysians have
developed the knack of reading between
the lines. Indeed, those who do have a
rudimentary memory of recent events would
know that torture in police custody is not
uncommon. Police spokesperson Ghazali
Mohamad Amin, in reacting to Anwar's
complaints, said such violence was
''nothing new''. It had happened before, he
pointed out. He is right.
There was a well-known case of a
mechanic who was found battered to death
while being interrogated by police. And it
wasn't until there was a public outcry that 11
police officers were rounded up. Still, they
were given nothing more than a rap on the
wrist.
Then there were deaths of illegal
immigrants in the Semenyih detention
camp which is under police control. The
government had grudgingly conceded that
some 72 immigrants have died, many from
malnutrition, lack of medical attention and
allegedly torture. Yet, the person who
exposed the deaths, women activist Irene
Fernandez, was hauled into court for
''spreading false news''. The whistle-blower
is penalised while the perpetrators walk
free.
But Anwar, as pointed out by opposition
leader Lim Kit Siang, is not some ''common
criminal''. Even criminals do not deserve to
be tortured. Indeed, the question on
everybody's lips is: If a person who was
once the second most powerful man in the
country could be beaten black and blue,
then who is safe? Apparently no one.
The police, it seems, have a score to settle
with Anwar. A few days before his arrest,
Anwar labelled the police tactics in
intimidating him and his supporters as akin
to Nazi Germany's Gestapo or Israel's
Mossad. The police chief, Rahim Noor, was
evidently furious. ''Call us pirates'', he
thundered, ''but never call us Gestapo or
Mossad.''
Reactions to Anwar's harsh treatment by
the authorities are coming in thick and fast
from Western governments. But Mahathir
has shown that he doesn't give two hoots
about protests from the West. Criticism
from Asean, however, would be another
matter altogether. Yet there is a deafening
silence in this region.
The persecution of Anwar is no doubt the
latest test for the post-Suharto Asean, and
it has been found badly wanting. Ironically,
the recent debate on Asean's flexible
engagement was inspired by Anwar, who
believed that human rights abuses by
member nations should not go uncriticised.
Moreover, Anwar counts many among his
peers in Asean as his personal friends. Yet
when he needs them most, they are
nowhere to be seen, or heard. Take, for
example, Thai Foreign Minister Surin
Pitsuwan who said he had ''no comment''
on the issue. For all the talk about good
neighbourliness, Asean leaders are fighting
shy to defend a friend who is facing the full
brunt of the state apparatus.
Anwar's fate remains unclear. But it
appeared he is coming out of Round 2
looking good in spite of, no, because of, the
black eye. Two of his associates who had
earlier pleaded guilty to being sodomised
by Anwar are now retracting their
confession. Moreover, none of the five
corruption charges against Anwar alleged
that he had amassed wealth. Instead, they
are mostly linked to the five ''unnatural'' sex
charges, for instance, the accusations that
Anwar pressed police to obtain
confessions from people denying sodomy
with him. These charges are nowhere near
the gravity of those monumental allegations
levelled against Anwar.
Since Anwar is held under the ISA, he will
be in jail for the whole duration of his trial,
which is likely to last for years. The
immediate concern of his family and
supporters will be his personal safety while
in police custody. A doctor who was
ordered by the court to examine Anwar's
eye confirmed that he was attacked.
For Mahathir, however, his days are clearly
numbered and it is beginning to show. Only
a few weeks ago, he said there was no
need to appoint a deputy. Now, under
pressure from his party, he plans to do so.
While there is no doubt that Mahathir still
has an iron grip over Umno, his authority
has surely been undermined by the show of
force by Anwar's supporters. It would only
take a few party heavyweights to break
ranks and the facade of support for
Mahathir would slowly crumble. But whether
anyone could summon enough courage to
oppose Mahathir in the foreseeable future
is debatable.
Whatever the outcome of this battle
between the two political titans, one thing is
clear. Anwar has unwittingly helped set
loose the democracy genie, and there will
be no turning back. Whether Anwar is found
guilty or not by the court is now
inconsequential. The reformasi movement
has obviously taken a life of its own.
Protests, even without Anwar's leadership,
or his wife's, Azizah Ismail, who is now
under a police restriction order, will
continue.
No wonder, Mahathir is increasingly a
desperate man. In a speech on
Wednesday, he lashed out at the media --
presumably this included the local media as
well -- for providing inaccurate information.
He lamented news reports that some
50,000 people had demonstrated at the
Merdeka Square. ''There were only about
5,000 people,'' he said.
Perhaps Mahathir, too, should have his
eyes checked.