UN report: Malaysia has abused human rights... by Aidila Razak

UN report: Malaysia has abused human rights

Aidila Razak
Mar 15, 2011, 2:45pm

Malaysia failed to fulfill its promises despite being elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council, with a laundry list of transgressions taking place when it was serving its term, a human rights reports says.

According to the New Delhi-based Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Malaysia had not only continued to apply "draconian" legislations, but also failed to stand up for vulnerable groups it pledged to back when it was elected onto the UN council in 2006.

"Despite Malaysia's pledge to actively support international action to advance the rights of vulnerable groups including children, refugees, asylum seekers and legal and illegal immigrants, they still suffered and child marriages continued to take place," it said.

When elected, said the CHRI report - entitled 'Easier Said than Done' - Malaysia also made a show of how it had successfully balanced the need for security and the promotion of human rights.

However, in the years that Malaysia sat on the council, the Internal Security Act (ISA) was used against opposition parliamentarian Teresa Kok, a journalist reporting on racist statements by an Umno division chief and a dissenting blogger, Raja Petra Kamaruddin, it said.

Choosing not to re-contest for a spot in the council after it term ended in 2009, Malaysia continued to misuse the ISA to curb religious freedom by detaining nine foreigners attending a purportedly Shii'te meeting in January 2010.

There was also evidence of abuse of the Sedition Act during its term on the UN council, with activists like Wong Chin Huat detained under the ISA for organising people to wear black in protest of the Perak coup.

The year 2009 also saw DAP stalwart Karpal Singh and Mohamad Sabu nabbed for sedition, with the latter's alleged offence being organising a mass prayer on the day a new menteri besar was to take up office in Ipoh.

Malaysia voted only on weak resolutions

The same period also saw the government announce intentions to censor the Internet, while journalists reported harassment, particularly after reporting on the protests over a Hindu temple in Shah Alam.

"Malaysia's Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) remained weak, while discrimination based on religion and ethnicity continued to be a major concern," the CHRI reported.

It also failed to uphold its promise to support the efforts of UN agencies to promote and protect human rights by "discouraging efforts by the special rapporteur on torture" on the death penalty.

CHRI also reported that Malaysia supported weaker resolutions on transgressions in North Korea, Sudan, Congo and Burma, among others, although consistently voting against Israel.

Civil society monitors?

Commenting on the report, Suhakam commissioner Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah said the commission has continued to take a stand against legislation that goes against human rights, including the right to assemble.

"We are not obliged to repeat the government's position, and we go with human rights principles. (Like the right to assemble) which may be illegal but is a basic human right," Sha'ani said.

The new Suhakam team has been seen monitoring street demonstrations to ensure that police do not abuse protesters.

He said Suhakam is also trying to lobby the government to allow civil society members to be part of the five-person delegation to the UN as a means of keeping the government accountable.

"This is practised by other countries and is encouraged by the UN. Otherwise Malaysia will continue to vote for human rights resolutions internationally, but won't deliver its promises at home," Sha'ani added.

Malaysian Insider: The ideal of a united Malaysia is under strain

The ideal of a united Malaysia is under strain

Malaysian Insider, Canberra, Feb 7 — What’s happening with Malaysia? The country has long been viewed in Australia as not only an especially friendly Southeast Asian neighbour — the “recalcitrant” Mahathir Mohammad excepted, though he’s been retired six years — but also a model of middle-class success and tolerance in that region.

Today, however, the country is having a hard time holding things together, in the face of religious and ethnic divides, political battles, and economic challenges.

Michael Danby, who chairs Australia’s foreign affairs subcommittee, told parliament last Tuesday night that “fellow democrats around Asia are flabbergasted at events unfolding in Kuala Lumpur.”
He was referring to the second trial of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy.

“For the second time,” Danby said, “the Malaysian legal system is being manipulated by supporters of the incumbent government to drive Malaysia’s best-known leader, Anwar Ibrahim, out of national politics.

“For the second time, documents are being forged, witnesses are being coerced, and evidence is being fabricated. This trial, like the first trial, is a disgrace to Malaysia, a country that aspires to democratic norms.”

Danby said it was long past time that Malaysia repealed these British colonial laws, which could not then be used for such political purposes.

“In the second place, everyone in Malaysia, and everyone in the international legal community, knows that Anwar is innocent of these charges.”

The underlying problem is that Anwar, leader of the People’s Justice Party, is the first charismatic Malay opposition politician with sufficient appeal for Malay voters to pose a real threat to Umno’s 52-year hold on power.

This episode indicates that it’s also long past time Umno took a spell in opposition, as Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party is doing.

Declared a middle-income country by the World Bank several years ago, Malaysia has grown accustomed to patronising its giant neighbour Indonesia — even though it still rankles that Malaysia itself continues to be patronised by its tiny neighbour Singapore.

Now, though, it is Indonesia — the raucous democracy with a rapidly acquired capacity to change leaders and governments peaceably, the world’s largest Muslim country renowned for its moderation and pluralism — that is receiving international praise, with US President Barack Obama flying across the world to visit (with a side-trip to Australia).

In 2008, last year and — as estimated by IMA Asia — this year, Malaysia’s economic growth figures are 4.6 per cent, -2.8 per cent, and 4 per cent. Indonesia’s are 6.1 per cent, 4.5 per cent and 5.6 per cent.

Since taking office last April, Prime Minister Najib Razak has started to dismantle the 40-year-old New Economic Policy, Sydney-based business consulting firm IMA notes.

It says: “While the NEP did little for ordinary Malays, its supposed beneficiaries, it enriched a handful of businessmen and contributed to corruption in Umno.”

Najib also has to tackle the over-reliance on oil money — for more than 40 per cent of government revenues — while just 2.3 million of the 28 million population pay income tax. And he needs to open more sectors of the economy to foreign investors.

That’s hard to do, while at the same time grappling with the plethora of problems resulting from Malaysia’s restrictive religious laws, reflecting Islam’s role as the state religion.

Queensland University political scientist David Martin Jones, currently working in Malaysia, says: “There is now an interesting collection of scandals dating from the first Anwar case in 1998 that coincides with the fragmentation of Umno-controlled politics.”

One such scandal comprised the tragic case of Lina Joy, aged 45, who was born into a Muslim family but began attending a church in 1990 and was baptised in 1998, and naturally wished to marry her Christian fiance. But marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men is forbidden under Malaysian law, and after years of battling the authorities in the courts, in 2007 she was refused permission to convert formally.

This year, Malaysia has seen its simmering religious and racial conflicts boil over after a ruling of the High Court that the Malay language pages of the Catholic Church’s weekly newspaper, the Herald, could use the term “Allah” as a translation for “God”.

Malaysian Christians say they have used “Allah” for God for centuries.

The government is appealing the decision. But in the meantime, it has triggered violent protests from Muslim Malays who comprise 60 per cent of the population, and who claim exclusive rights over the Arabic word “Allah”. Christians comprise just 9 per cent of Malaysians.

Eleven churches, a Sikh temple and two Muslim prayer rooms have been attacked so far, as a result of the row, and the severed heads of three wild boars — considered unclean by Muslims — with their mouths stuffed with bank notes, in plastic bags, were found outside two mosques.

The High Court last April sentenced to death two policemen who were assigned to the office of Najib Razak, the then deputy prime minister and defence minister. They were found guilty of murdering a Mongolian woman who had had a relationship with Abdul Razak Baginda, a defence analyst for a think tank, and had translated for him on a deal to buy submarines from France.

Abdul Razak, arrested for abetting the murder, was acquitted. But the motives for the policemen to have killed Atlantuyaa — by explosives — remain murky.

Martin Jones says: “Malay political scandals and the cynicism they engender, together with the bitter debate over the ‘Allah affair’, are seriously fragmenting the Malay community, whilst minority communities are increasingly rejecting the Umno model of Satu Malaysia (1 Malaysia). I suspect this portends some trouble ahead for the Malay political process.”

Razak has launched a multimedia 1 Malaysia campaign to promote the virtues of “perseverance, a culture of excellence, acceptance, loyalty, education, humility, integrity, and meritocracy.”

This looks to be a hurdle too high for a political establishment whose credibility is too low, for an economy that for two years has suffered net outflows of foreign investment, and for a culture suffering some confusion.

Jones points out: “It’s somewhat ironic that an ostensibly puritanical political culture that won’t contemplate a Beyonce concert seems to lap up details of Anwar’s alleged penetration of his aide.”

The singer Beyonce last October cancelled a second planned concert in Malaysia after accusations by Islamic conservatives that her show was immoral. She scored a huge hit when she flew instead to a Muslim neighbour with less stringent rules on dress or behaviour: Indonesia. — The Australian

Malaysian Insider: Attacks on churches: the broader implications — Dr Syed Husin Ali

Attacks on churches: the broader implications — Dr Syed Husin Ali

JAN 18 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak almost jumped in anger when a reporter asked him if there was truth in the allegation that Umno was behind the recent attacks on the churches. Some people interpreted the nature of his response and body language betrayed as an admission of guilt.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein on another occasion tried to belittle the issue by saying that the attacks on these places of worship as the work of mischievous children. By this he showed an irresponsible attitude of a person in deliberate denial.

I consider these attacks, which are still continuing although causing less damage, to be a serious cause for concern. They have resulted in fissures and tensions among various ethnic and racial groups, although they have fortunately not triggered conflicts and clashes. If not handled with care they could result in long term social rupture and chaos.

I also hold that the series of attacks were indirectly or even directly the results of the statements made by Najib and Hishammuddin. Following the Allah controversy, they stated that those who wanted to demonstrate could do so within mosque compounds. Consciously or unconsciously they had provided an opening to extremists to act.

There is a view among a considerable number of people — rightly or wrongly — that Najib and Hishammuddin at the beginning were hoping to use the Allah issue and the demonstrations to muster support from Malay-Muslims.

This is said to be consistent with their plans to mobilise big enough Malay support to counterbalance the heavy losses suffered from non-Malay support during the general elections nearly two years ago. Now they are determined to regain the two-thirds majority in Parliament and control of the five states that the Umno-BN lost to Pakatan Rakyat.

There is nothing new in efforts to regain lost support from voters by resorting to ethnic and religious appeals. Without having to go far back into history, we can see this clearly from recent events following the unexpectedly big electoral gains made by the opposition parties in the last elections.
It started in Penang when a group of people opposed to and demonstrated against Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for allegedly displaying strong anti-Malay sentiments by calling for the abrogation of the New Economic Policy.

This small group of extremists, largely Umno members and supporters, with the help of the Umno-owned daily, Utusan Malaysia, tried very hard to whip up Malay communal anger. They failed rather miserably.

Things cooled down after Bernama, the government influenced news agency admitted their mistake and withdrew their incorrect quotes from the CM that was used by the demonstrators. Immediately after that almost the same kind of attempt was made in Perak, although the issues were slightly different.

Here again, a small number of Malay extremists mainly from Umno and their supporters acted with the support of the same newspaper and a handful of Umno leaders. They accused the Chinese from DAP committed “treason” against the ruler (because Lim Kit Siang called for a boycott of the swearing in ceremony) and that the Pakatan Mentri Besar from PAS had become the tool of DAP.

The attempt of these chauvinists failed to get support of the people. Later in Selangor, a small group of similar type of extremist elements tried to stoke ethnic flame by raising the issue of a centralised pig farm mooted by the state government.

They used racial and religious arguments against this in order to gain support for their demonstrations. Despite strong support from Utusan Melayu and even a TV channel, they failed miserably. The move fizzled out especially after a leader of the demonstrations was exposed as being involved with an earlier project for such a farm under the auspices of a company linked to Umno.

Two observations can be made from the efforts of the extremists as described above. Firstly, they resorted to playing with Malay chauvinist sentiments in the efforts to gain bigger Malay support for Umno.

More dangerous than this, a handful among these extremists were known to express the hope that communal clashes would occur so that the government can act by using the ISA or even resorting  to declare a state of emergency. They wanted a repeat of the May 13 Incident, which they believed could be manipulated to regain control of the states that they had lost to the opposition.

Secondly, although the actions of these handful extremists were given unstinted support by Utusan Melayu and, to a limited extent by some Umno leaders, they failed to gain support from big groups of people, including the Malays.

I believe that the main reason is that the people in general are more conscious and intelligent now. They knew that the extremists were playing with fire and that if they were given full support, disaster and suffering would befall the country and people. The majority of people want peace and harmony to prevail in the country.

When Najib and Hishammuddin gave the green light for demonstrations to be held after the Allah controversy broke out, they provided opportunity to similar irresponsible and extremist elements to continue with what others had failed in the past. Both government leaders practiced double standards.

They claimed they could not control if people wanted to demonstrate, although they had come down with very heavy arms on demonstrations by opposition groups, even when they were held in mosque compounds.

Many suspected that by giving the green light they were perhaps surreptitiously hoping thousands of Malay-Muslims would come out in support. A massive turn-out could be interpreted as popular support for the government decision vis-à-vis the Allah issue. Obviously they must have been thoroughly disappointed.

Only about 500 people gathered at Masjid Negara and roughly 400 at Masjid Shah Alam. In Masjid Kampung Baru only about 200 people assembled, while in the Kota Bharu Stadium there were also about the same number.

As stated earlier, the people are now more intelligent, and they would not allow themselves to be carried away and deceived by narrow ethnic and religious appeals.

When these demonstrations failed, some perhaps decided to resort to other more dangerous actions, like the attacks on the churches. Indeed some of them perhaps wanted ethnic and religious flame to flare up. Without shame they would welcome it if their actions resulted in the ISA being used and Emergency being declared.  Fortunately, most people including some ministers are more wise and sober now.

Besides the church attacks and the demonstrations in the various states controlled by Pakatan, as described, there have been other types of efforts and conspiracies to discredit and weaken the opposition parties and to mobilise support for Umno.

A number of Umno leaders, again with the support of media propaganda especially by Utusan Melayu and also certain TV channels have been attacking PKR and PAS as well as their leaders, including Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar particularly has been constantly targeted in the Malay media as having sold out to the Chinese because of his declared stand on the NEP, education and other policies, based on justice for all.

It can be said that the majority of Malays have not been convinced by such chauvinist propaganda. That is why such allegations levelled against Anwar by even Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin have been receding. But certain government or Umno-owned media, especially Utusan Melayu continue to demonise Anwar.

Related to all these is the second round of attacks and attempt to drag Anwar to court on the accusation that he has committed sodomy again. There is a small group of leaders and members of Umno who vehemently believe that Anwar must be removed from the country’s political stage in order to save their skins. They opine that the best way to do this is by getting Anwar incarcerated in jail as long as possible.

Among this small group are a vicious few who are already arguing that the Malay public must be convinced through the media that Anwar is working against Malay interests. They must be made to choose between Anwar and the Malays. By the Malays here they obviously mean the corrupt leaders of Umno and their cronies, present and past, that must be saved at all cost. Again they resort to Malay chauvinist appeal to achieve this end.

In order to succeed with their accusations and propaganda, these Umno and government leaders make full use the media. They must have greater control the media so that they will not give fair coverage on the Anwar trial, which will be in front of well “selected” judge(s) who can be relied on to be biased against Anwar. Further, they will try to ensure that the alternative media will be constrained more severely.

Thus press freedom will be further strangled to serve their purpose. There are already signs that the printed and electronic media are now being directed and controlled more than in the past. Thus the media, besides money and government power will be used and abused to the full in order the ensure that Umno-BN remain in control in this country for many more years to come.

* Dr Syed Husin Ali is a senator and deputy president of PKR.

* This article is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.

Comments (DQ): 

A sane and sanguine commentary by a opposition die-hard who refuses to be bowed against the tidal wave of mainstream partisan politics and ultra-racial-religious extremists, all pandering to political patronage to maintain their ill-gotten power. 

Dr Husin Ali gives us Malaysians a glimmer of hope that persistence and tenacity of purpose and strong morals/ethics, can still work for Malaysia. Onward to a newer renewed Malaysia, come next elections, God willing or "InsyaAllah"!

52 years on, and still Mistrust and Communalism reigns...

This year, I greeted Merdeka amidst deep feelings of disquiet and uneasy anguish. It has become a recurrent theme of my melancholy.

31st August has come around again -- Hari Kemerdekaan, Independence Day.

Before I go on, I want to state that I am not politically-affiliated and do not belong to any political party. I consider myself a liberal Malaysian, and have always been advocating a kindlier, more sensible, more cohesive, more efficient and less corrupt Malaysia. I am passionately inclined to supporting a radical yet peaceful change for a better Malaysia.

I begin this way, knowing that in Malaysia these days, everyone is now a potentially vocal commentator with no holds barred to their freedom to express themselves!

Still, I continue to hope that more common sense and reason will prevail. I am an unabashed believer in more constructive if idealistic rational discourse and less rhetoric.

I was born two years before the Malayan liberation, too young to understand the significance of what 'Merdeka' meant. But later, my late father (one who was ever so apolitical) would remind me that it was one of those life-defining moments of epiphany, with the nationwide rousing shouts of pride of "Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka!..."

Now 52 years on, this shibboleth appears somewhat hollow, too meaningless, too unfelt. Was it truly freedom to decide our own fate, our own lives, our destinies? Have we really been liberated?

Or has this been replaced with an even more destructive social disintegration, political uncertainty and perhaps a growing sense of hopelessness? I wonder.

But as Malaysians, we seem to have forgotten that we did have some success, as many people around the world would gladly attest. We were among the better, more stable newly independent states, which had progressed with a decent clip of development, fairly good administration, a workable semblance of political freedom and democracy. But perhaps only just, as dictated by the reality of the times, then...

I am not sure if our history could have been much different given the circumstances, the ethnic composition, the political awareness, the communal tensions, the talents and the leaders that we have had. But then again, I am not sure if we had learnt anything at all from our unique history.

To be sure, we will all have our own passionate beliefs that our past leaders had led us down the garden path of corrupt destruction and wasted opportunities. As a whole, this would be a true reflection for many of us.

Many have lamented the fact that the mainstream establishment had been guilty of glossing over the splintering jaggedness of our incompatible perhaps ineradicable differences. Deep-seated communal bigotry and irrational ethno-religious bullheadedness continue to jar our carefully crafted Vision 2020, and the more recent if much maligned facade of 1 Malaysia.

Sadly, these tensions just refuse to go away, only to be stoked incessantly by morally-bankrupt politicians...

We clearly could not all have hoped to be taking the singular path of breakaway Singapore in 1965... Like it or not, Singapore's political reality, resource-poor island status, and their ethnic composition then, made it a particular experience at nation building, which perhaps could only have happened once in a rare while, much like the serendipitous bountiful arrows of earth's evolution, and our magnificent diversity, to paraphrase the late paleo-zoologist Professor Stephen Jay Gould.

With our greater numbers and more diverse peoples, it was unlikely that Malaysia would have achieved that identical status that is Singapore today. Yes, it is true that Singapore's economic strides: GDP growth, living standards and appreciating dollar, appear to have left us quite far behind...

Yet again perhaps, (and with due apologies to my Singaporean friends!) many Malaysians would baulk at that idea of becoming another successful if somewhat soulless and straitjacketed nation, across the Causeway -- that "little red dot", bright and lustrous as it sometimes seems...

But, it is good to imagine what might have been, if we had chosen paths of greater ethnic, religious tolerance and acceptance, 'real' unity and accommodation, greater efficiency, lesser corruptibility, less political manipulation and even less seething if undisguised polarisation.

It is increasingly difficult to be jubilant, enthusiastic, yes, even nationalistically proud when we celebrate our National Day, our independence from our long history of colonial past. 52 years now from whence we were cobbled together, in a mishmash political entity called Persekutuan Tanah Melayu and then later in 1963, Malaysia.

From colonial expediencies where the colonial masters commanded all the "divide and rule" puissance, to deviously subdue local inhabitants, e.g. Malays, Ibans, Kadazans; indenture Indians into planting and then tapping the sprawling rubber plantations, and crudely importing chain gangs of Chinese coolies to mine tin and other minerals, we were expected to arrive at a semblance of an amalgamated whole. Perhaps, this was a tall order, too tall to succeed...

Despite more than half a century of this social experiment and so-called nation-building, it appears that socio-ethno-religious fracture lines have never been truly mended, much less fused. Latterly, this frangible social contract seems to have been sundered further apart with vengeance!

Political meekness and tongue-tied obeisance on the part of the secondary parties within Barisan National, were punished by increasingly loud and resurgent anti-establishment voices, which crescendoed in the March 8 electoral gains by oppositionists.

Yet, instead of greater democratic space and hoped for change, this last year and a half, have been fraught with political uncertainties, ridiculously crude and partisan chicanery, and a rising tempo of communal and religious tensions! Every day seems consumed in politicking and more politicking!

There is great social schism in our rakyat, mounting mistrust, and a seemingly unbridgeable chasm of non-accommodation on both sides. Anything espoused by either side is quickly dismissed as inherently self-serving, misleading, wrong, devious or inept.

Oppositionists have been labeled as disloyal crypto-racists, anti-royalty, and even more viciously anti-Malay, which must be furthest from reality. Unfortunately, events of late have made this feeling even more entrenched: selective prosecution/persecution of oppositionist supporters, peace or anti-ISA demonstrators including candle-light vigil participants; Machiavellian takeover of the Perak state government; custodial deaths and torture (with the latest Teoh Beng Hock's 'falling death' from the 14th floor of the MACC building); perceived and blatantly biased actions and arrogance of our much maligned Police force; widespread misgivings on the impartiality of our judiciary, etc.

In short, to many of the growing throngs of anti-establishment Malaysians, the current government cannot be trusted, period. And all its civic institutions appear rotten to the core... There's widespread anger, indeed even rousing hatred which fuels its own vicious cycle of anarchic anomie.

The rise of the blogosphere and alternative media though the world wide web, has opened up and exposed that untameable genie in the bottle, never again to be contained. While, this ungovernable cyberspace has fostered unimaginable information traffic, and unlocked many secrets, exposes, and countless exchanges for the better, there is another sinister side which has emerged.

This unleashed genie of free expression too is fraught with disturbing inexactitudes, irrational bigotry and unrestrained viciousness of its own. Personally declared but intolerant righteousness have been spewed behind the facade of perceived anonymity of the Internet. Can anyone believe anything at all in the web? Certainly not everything, but the dilemma is knowing which is which.

Belligerent ad hominem attacks have become the preferred mode of communication for greater share of internet audiences. From rambling disorganised blogs/commentaries to incoherently twittering 'haikus', rantings and ravings have replaced civic discourse or rational dialogue.

Rumours and innuendoes have been elevated to become unchallengeable "facts", aggravated by the overzealously self-censoring main stream media, whose alienating voices are diminishingly soft and perceptibly untrustworthy...

There appears to be very little patience for compromise, for sensible meeting of minds... How do we build a republic of virtue, if we cannot at least try to work together and are almost always bogged down in the quagmire of seething hatred and mutually destructive distrust?

Although some may disagree with the middle ground of academic Azly Rahman ( in Dream of a Sincere Merdeka), I think he represents that enlightened Malaysian intellectual who espouses more dialogue no matter how trenchant the tone: "We spend too much time politicising everything and less time educating. If all that energy is used to design a better system of participatory democracy and philanthropy, and to reach out to other ethnic groups to collaborate in solving the issue of poverty, we, as Malaysians, will become a miracle nation."

I think many alter Malaysians are now so intoxicated by their own anger, hatred and righteousness that many are no longer listening, except to their own voices and other like-minded echoes they surround themselves with. We are no longer thinking about how some of these seemingly implacable problems can be resolved. We just want to see instant results, provoke instant reactions, we behave as if the politics of the land is a playground for the brave and loud. But, what about how to run, really run a government of our choice, of virtue?

An online editor has confided apologetically that: "many commentators basically rant and rave at any one who seems to be in authority... I do wonder if there is a place for genuine discourse. But I guess we live in a country where quite a lot is broken."

Conversely, pro-government politicians, administrators (police, judiciary, MACC, civil servants) and supporters are now all increasingly tainted with that huge tar brush as corrupt, venial, mercenary, totally reliant on political patronage, rent-seekers, and ineffective, without exception -- which again cannot be all the incontrovertible truth.

But the innocents are increasingly marginalised and are being pushed to smaller and smaller corners of despair, which may explain their entrenched attitudes towards some sort of subliminal retaliation. Anger and hatred breeds both ways, it is often forgotten...

Worse than that, we appear to be spiralling down that abyss of ever more provocative racist and religious extremism: the latest being that unforgivably brutish "cow head" protest against the building of a Hindu temple in Shah Alam. After initial outrage, this unspeakable bigotry seems to have receded into receiving no more than knuckle-rapping warnings and an inexplicable deafening silence from that raft of usually "legalistic" UMNO leaders.

Yet on the other side, can we not see that some Muslims and Malays fueled by politically-motivated siege behaviour, may have been 'engineered' and have banded together to fight back, to loudly proclaim their growing sense of 'loss', their perceived grievances? Never the twain shall meet, it seems...

Thus, can anyone be faulted for this sense of national despair, of hopelessness, of more of the same or worse?

But this disturbing sense of intellectual anarchy in our newfangled 'democratic' space keeps growing--our politics get murkier and murkier, with widespread and humongous allegations of bribery, corruption, counter charges of corruption; whispered vote buying of millions to reported billions of Ringgit of corporate mismanagement; shameless personal enrichment and rent-seeking cronyistic patronage and handouts; counter claims of inept, uncaring constantly politicking oppositionist state governments!

Every action appears to have been challenged by more reactions. We have now accumulated mountain piles of legal challenges and counter-challenges that appear to be the only by-product of our hard-fought democratic space.

Countless police reports, counter-reports, statutory declarations, counter-declarations, whether true or false, pointless point-scoring judicial challenges/reviews, spiralling defamation suits (100 to 500 million Ringgit! Is any Malaysian really worth that much?), accusations and counter-accusations now dot our political landscape and news, almost on a daily basis!

We are effectively stalling and stumbling at the starting block, as impasse spasms continue to paralyse our development and progress...

We trust no one, we blame and censure everyone, we continue to let our unleashed rage, our gut-instinctual righteousness, and our unyielding partisanship create this overpowering dark cloud atmosphere of gridlock and paralysis!

There appears to be no hope, the divide seems unbridgeable, the Malaysian schism further separates... So there appears to be one law for supporters and another for the others. So frustrating, so provocative, so hate-fulfilling...

A beleaguered government sensing their dismal disarray into possible irrelevance, corrals upon itself a "fight or flight" mentality, its back against the wall. It necessarily wants to fight back, and it does so with a vehemence that should surprise no one!

There appears to be no willingness to compromise, this is one fight to the 'death' so to speak! Winner takes all! But is this necessarily so?

Can we find a middle ground? Or is the only other way, a revolutionary disassembling, discharge or destruction of the other? Must this confrontational stance rise and rise to that unthinkable crescendo of social dehiscence, which can only threaten to destroy all of us, everyone of us, self-proclaimed 'true' Malaysian patriots?

We could tone down our justifiable outrage, our unforgiving tantrums, our frenzied rantings, because this would help make our arguments a tad more tolerable, even if less exciting to read. True dialogue rather than talking heatedly over each others' heads would be far more productive.

We must learn to think aloud and listen to ourselves, especially if we wish to impart and share our strongest views about others. Even if we believe that by doing so, we can hopefully help create a small glimmer of hope, to help bring about 'change' for the better.

This is not to say that we are climbing down from our precarious perch of righteousness or moral might. This is also not my 'apologist stance on behalf of the establishment'. It is a genuine call for more common sense, and less rhetoric, less posturing. Our strength of conviction will be that levelheaded perspicacity and moral persuasion that serve as the hallmark of modern democratic action.

Perhaps, I am naive, but I sense and fear the growing demise of our social respect for each other to the point of contempt and constant belittling of one another. Once we start thinking of those who disagree with us as less than human, we are really stepping down the slippery slope of dangerous no return.

We must therefore, learn to avoid these sparks of deadly rhetoric which can precipitate ethnic-religious tragedies such as has been experienced in the not too distant past, in former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

I know we all think we are contributing to this concept of change which we must begin with each and every one person in Malaysia. I believe this too, passionately, but I too must be aware of the prevailing realities and maintain a step-back patience.

Sometimes, the loudest most strident voice is not necessarily that most listened to; some people would be very quick to switch off immediately, and we would not be listened to at all, except from the already converted. The more serious consequences would be the possible repercussions of retaliatory anger, hatred, vengeance...

We can all help to lessen the tenor and the tempo of recriminations and deep-seated anger and try and temper down the growing ill will that is brewing and boiling over in our blogosphere and possibly also in our civil society!

We stand ready to lose and exclude another huge segment of our society, who are our fellow citizens too, albeit on the other side of the fence. Worse, we may be kindling something more unthinkable, more sinister and terrible! I do hope I am wrong and will be proven so!

Let's help reduce the political tension, while continuing to push our agenda with less animosity but with greater moral suasion!

God help us! Have a thoughtful Merdeka!

This article has been published in The Malaysian Insider, 06 September 2009
Also in Malaysian Mirror, 06 September 2009
Appears as a brief letter in malaysiakini Sinister side of the web, 08.09.09


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Shame: The Negative Politicisation of Malaysian Society...

"All through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall, always." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Long before the stunning outcome of last year's election shock, Malaysian civil society has been embroiled in and simmering in sleaze and negative vibes.

The 'feel-good' mood of the rakyat has long since evaporated. In its place there hangs a thick fog of resigned exasperation and seething anger increasingly directed at the current debilitating establishment.

Sadly, our pliant administration (yes, including our subservient civil servants and the ingratiating if arrogant police who should rightfully be serving the rakyat and not simply the misguided whims and demands of the politicians!) appears to remain stubbornly oblivious to the changing tide of popularity and the mounting legitimate demands of a politically-awakened rakyat.

As enlightened rakyat we refuse to kowtow anymore to more of the same—the crass corruption and senseless power play for wanton personal gain. Enough is enough, we seem to say—if only this cry for justice and fairplay can be heard more resoundingly...

Our previously self-assured confidence has since been punctured by despondent daily takes of political trickery and rising crime rates. Our streets are becoming more and more unsafe. In the space of 2 consecutive days, two pregnant women had been killed by the senseless thuggery of snatch-thieves more brazen than ever before, while the police dawdle on partisan political corralling of activists and oppositionists...

And this sorry state of affairs has shown no signs of abating. We are still mired in political gridlock and parochial inaction to the point of undermining our vaunted position as one of the fastest growing economies of the world.

Perhaps, this is the result of too long an incumbency of the previous leadership—22 years of stuttering sometimes staggering achievements, but also creeping and crumbling encrustations of ageing emasculated institutions. Followed by another 6 years of political and administrative indecisive meandering, Malaysians appear to have dug deeper into the bottomless chasm of uncertainty and despair.

Political manoeuvrings appear to have become the sole and blinkered attention of our one-dimensional politicians, with the old guards stubbornly and tenaciously clinging on to whatever Machiavellian manoeuvres to stay in power, worse they are adopting the much-maligned and perverse 'Mugabean' methods of usurping or grabbing power!

The police and the judiciary appear to have become instruments of the ruling elite, whose clinging to govern at all cost know no bounds.

To quote The Malaysian Insider editorial:

"Crime appears to be spiralling out of control in Malaysia, snatch theft victims are dying on the streets and the men in blue seem more interested in enforcing a dress code and arresting social activists and politicians on lame-duck sedition charges. Really, the reputation of the Royal Malaysian Police takes a beating every time they forget that their duty is to serve the Malaysian public. But still they persist in acting in a manner which alienates the same people who are paying their salaries."

As a Malaysian, I feel so let down, so ashamed that our political masters have blatantly forgotten their causes, their roles, their purported functions. They have let themselves be elevated to the exalted status of gods or royals, who have no other concern except their own survival and their own selfish interests! There is not even that show of modicum for respecting the rakyat and their wishes—its all about staying and clinging on to power at all costs!

I echo the articulate anguish expressed by renowned writer Beth Yahp when she says in malaysiakini:

"I’ve seen the Perak state assembly descending into chaos in a naked power grab that makes a mockery of every claim to fairness, justice and democracy that the new regime of our newly-minted prime minister, who apparently orchestrated the whole debacle, may make."

Can any one seriously respect the institutions and the current government any longer—seeing that it continues to do as it pleases, and abuses its rule by law and diktats according to its own whims and fancies, but not according to legitimate people's interests?

Charging and arresting anyone who opposes them with all sorts of bullying Acts and laws cannot be the way to legitimise its faltering stranglehold on power... If anything, it hardens and alienates the rakyat against them even more.

Aliran president's Ramakrishnan rightly points out that:

"The police have acted in a diabolical manner and did not act professionally and in an impartial manner as they are required to do so. They are seen to be acting pro-Barisan Nasional and in a high-handed fashion in arresting so many people who had not posed any serious threat to the security of the nation."

"Law and order has completely broken down in the Perak state assembly and in this state of lawlessness Umno has taken charge of the Perak. This is no honourable take over of the august body. It is a shameful way of acquiring power through brute force."

Perhaps this realisation is what's galling the ruling elite—that it appears to be losing the popular support of the people day by day, despite it trying so very hard to 'please' an ever-growing number of disgruntled people—every which way, the incumbent government appears to lose!

I sometimes wish we can turn back the clock, but we can't. So many of our Malaysians have awaken to the possibility of change so potent, that we cannot now go back to our slumber of timorous compliance and swallowed pride and tongue-biting conscience.

We have progressed too far along our democratic space and journey that we cannot allow our momentum to weaken, from backsliding. We have to collectively nudge this along even if we are hampered by such roadblocks of inconvenience, we must remain steadfast to defeat the ancien regime of tottering misrule!

To quote Beth Yahp again, we cannot allow bully tactics to recede back into our accustomed apathy, our fear; together we can make a difference, we must choose to be more daring, more vocal now:

"This darkness didn’t happen overnight. And it won't dissipate overnight. We have all contributed to it, by our silence, our apathy, our self-interest, and our fear. These qualities have been so indoctrinated in us that, like it or not, they are part of what makes us Truly Malaysian. We are so used to people telling us what we’re allowed to say and do. Why not also what to wear? What to think? What to be?"

I wish upon a new era for Malaysia, a new dawn of a democratic, progressive and fair Malaysia—one that every rakyat can be proud of. And not one where fair-minded citizens the world over would snigger in derision at its tainted leaders, its crumbling institutions, its wanton corruption, its power crazy machinations, its total lack of moral credibility for us, the rakyat to believe in...

Alas, would my country be reborn?.

To further quote from another blogging commentator aries:

"This is the dawn of a NEW MALAYSIA.

A Malaysia of equal respect, equal opportunities, equal partnership, equal standing, equal honour, equal responsibilities, equal citizenship, equal humanity.

Gone are the days of treachery, unfair quotas, prejudice, selective persecution, selective discrimination, unequal opportunities, unequal partnership, discriminative citizenship, supremacist positioning and posturing, racial and racist political stance and policies."


An abridged version appears in malaysiakini on 13 May 2009, as Negative Politicisation of Malaysian society.

Malaysian Anomie: Shenanigans and Sleaze rules...

"Malaysia’s addiction to conspiracy theories is quite incurable, fed as it is by dose after dose of bewildering episodes and partisan posturing. It is not only Perak that is suffering a constitutional crisis. The whole country is mired in a misguided democracy." ~ Ooi Kee Beng, in Today

After pausing and reflecting on the momentous year that was, the start of the year 2009 could not have been any more melodramatic.

Indeed, all the seedy goings-on crescendoed into what must rank as one of the most turbulent first 2 months of possibly any year for Malaysians! Unfortunately, these aren't happenings that anyone can be proud of.

These are more dispiriting than uplifting. Indeed they have dampened the ebullient mood of many Malaysians who had hoped for greater political change and democratic gain following the 2008 elections, just a mere 10 months ago...

What started as polemical jousting and rumblings turned into a farcical comedy of errors and cynical one-upmanship of the crassest! An earlier defection to Pakatan Rakyat (PR) by one dubious Barisan Nasional (BN) state assemblyman, U-turned into an abrupt all-out assault on the erstwhile PR-led government of Perak, with the cynical defections of 3 PR assemblymen to enable a highly controversial BN take-over of the state.

Somehow, the usually aloof royalty has also been drawn into this quagmire, when its decision to allow the change of government was made despite vociferous if futile calls for fresh state elections, to truly determine the rakyat's choice.

By refusing to bow to this unexpected debacle and sudden loss of power, PR's Menteri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin, suddenly became his (PAS) party's democratic stand-up hero, but also considered by his UMNO detractors as a stubborn ingrate of treachery most foul!

This then triggered a convenient round of recriminations and accusations of 'derhaka' or treason against those who had dared challenge the wisdom and decision of the royalty! Led by UMNO, BN now plangently proclaim its swinging new tune and melody of pro-royalist allegiance, with frenzied protestations of loyalty and avowed claims of protecting the institution of the Malay Royalty forever.

Ironically, this runs in sharp contrast to the earlier Trengganu Sultan's decision to install his own choice of Menteri Besar. Only then, UMNO-led politicians were loudly critical, if not also 'treasonous' in demanding that royalty acquiesce with the expectations of the rakyat.

Azly Rahman has once again nailed the issue when he discussed this antithetical mindset of our Malays in particular, in malaysiakini's article "From Daulat to Derhaka"

How quickly memory fades and tunes change when political occurrences favour one or the other. Such is the status of politics--expediency, erstwhile elastic memories and short-term gains almost always prevail, if only to be overturned or improved upon at a later more enlightened era...

Correctness of purpose and ethics are as flexible and malleable as plasticine, and depends only on who calls the shots, ultimately. No wonder that ordinary folks find politics and politicians so skeptical, so dirty, so self-serving...

In my mind, there are no two ways about this. Party hopping so soon after an election is a cynical betrayal of the public's trust. This practice should be totally banned and made impossible, even if necessary by new and better anti-hopping laws. This will forestall and eradicate the growing spectre of illegal enrichment and worse corrupt promises and practices which taints the politician and the parties concerned even more, making a mockery of our burgeoning democracy.

There can be no denying that during the recent elections and again during the hard-fought by-elections, that the people are the ones who had decided which party they wanted. Again and again it had shown that it does not matter who the actual candidate was; what matters is the party that represents the aspirations and the wishes of the rakyat.

To surreptitiously induce lesser-minded, morally-dubious politicians to switch party is to encourage the culture of mindless expediency and personal greed at its worst!

Such political shenanigans only show blatant disregard and disdain for the rakyat. Political manoeuvrings, machinations and victory at any cost, appear to condone dubious policies and practices which border on illegality or extremely skewed legal interpretations. They reflect a facile penchant for bendable rules and show utter disrespect for social acceptance and norms.

It even appears that the current bully pulpit of Malaysian politics can even get away with whatever it chooses, in the most cynical display of arrogance. Shameless primadonnas even parade themselves with the smugness that flusters one's sense of goodwill, fairness and equanimity.

Such exhibition of unabashed coldhearted contempt for the citizens, with the absolute goal of winning at all costs, can only create a sense of anomie and despair for our rakyat!

Is there no rule which matters any more?

Is political expediency the only law of the land left?

Is there no hope for change for the better?

Let common sense return and prevail once again!

Let the will of the rakyat remain supreme.

Let's not becloud the real issues of proper and moral governance with extraneous if contrived umbrages and baggages of royalty-baiting or shifty sycophancy for convenience and expedience's sake!

Let Malaysia have a New and Real People-empowered Beginning!

This has been published in malaysiakini on 26 Feb 2009.

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2008: Annus Mirabilis: The year that was... Part 2

6. The foundering disappointment of the Abdullah Badawi government
When he first took over the helm of Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi was seen as the next hope for change toward a gentler, less corrupt, less autocratic government. He did promise to clean up the act. But alas, the wheels of change under his watch, were truly grinding under the weight of ponderous inaction and torpidly unconvincing pledges—some talk, but generally no action. At least, none worthy of institutional progress.

If anything, he let his cronies, his fourth/fifth floor gatekeepers led by his son-in-law KJ, control the engine of his listless administration and the nation's projects for development. As a result the country literally stalled, with gross incompetence, venal and shameless bartering for ill-gotten gains and extravagant wastage!

It was as if the wealth and direction of the country now hinged on the grandiose if untested whims and fancies of a small coterie of young 30-something year-old Oxbridge graduates, beholden only to the ambitious Khairy Jamaluddin.

Rumours of his excesses are probably just that. But the unflattering perception became disastrous for the Premier, who seemed unwilling or unable to rein in this appealing if brazen young man (in closer circles, he had been quoted as having said that he would become prime minster before the age of 40!)

His impatience and his greater-than-life belief in himself and his worth clearly antagonised more than just the ordinary Malaysian, his UMNO brethren began to openly question and challenge his stature and his ambition. Thus, began the break-up of the cosy unity of purpose of UMNO-dominated largesse and its shattered myth of political goodwill. It finally boiled down to everyman for himself, as they wrangled for the spoils of dominance, influence and connections.

The strong 2004 electoral mandate given by a hopeful rakyat, was therefore quickly sapped and frittered away, with escalating disenchantment with Pak Lah's lethargic style of leadership. Ambitious and impatient political rivals skirmished and began to sorely test his mettle, and left in its wake, a lingering if haunting disservice to his vitiated legacy.

Some kinder pundits have equated him, Pak Lah to be Malaysia's Gorbachev—a sort of an enlightened leader who espouse a new beginning (sadly, equally nebulous in the final anaylsis), an openness, a glasnost, for greater democratic space—perhaps, they were right...

But ultimately, being benign and gently ineffectual (perhaps even a seat-warmer?), is never enough to hold on to power in this hurly-burly world of politics... Pak Lah would soon have to relinquish his mantle of power, (one which we sense he was uneasy to begin with anyway), brokered through an uneasy truce with his number two.

His tenure of Premiership is best summed up as forgettable, even as he tried at the last gasp to enact new laws (the watered-down MACC, JAC) which would lend some spotted burnish and meaning to his lacklustre administration.

Still, it is true that Malaysians were given a chance to become more outspoken, more willing to question the status quo, braver with the uncensored anonymity of free-expression aided by the mushrooming alternate media—the blogosphere, YouTube and the world wide web through the internet. So, in a sense we should be grateful.

But, perhaps, it is also the spirit of the times, the zeitgeist of a new interconnected world, where civil liberties and expectant human rights have matured with presumptuous free expression, information ubiquity and where knowledge access is de rigueur, even inevitable...

7. The ex-PM who would not go away...
Mahathir Mohamed, now Tun, our ex-Premier for 22 years, must be that permanent fixture on any Malaysian political scene, who refuses to fade away.

There is much that can be said of this singular man, but there is also sadness that having achieved so much, he has clung on to his cast-in-stone ideas that Malaysia must be the Malaysia of his own, and perhaps his only image.

There can be no doubt that Mahathir placed Malaysia on the world map pedestal. He developed modern industrialised Malaysia in the mould of strong and autocratic man of yesteryears. Malaysia is made known globally because of his untiring efforts to promote a Malaysia that Can, i.e. Malaysia Boleh!

His grandiose schemes while criticised by many of his detractors, might be temporally opportunistic, but his landmarks have become household names in the region as well as globally, e.g. the Petronas Twin Towers, Putrajaya city, the KLIA, the Penang Bridge, Proton cars.

But alas, his other legacy isn't so sparkling or benign, but may be even more painfully enduring and inimical. In his determined quest to modernise Malaysia and uplift the indigenous Malays in particular, he began with unique bold ideas which were beneficent. As a result Malaysia's hard core rural poverty had been drastically reduced, and a sizeable middle class had been created.

However, many of these quickly became blemished as these created a spectacular if exclusive brand of government-linked corporations, and government-aided multimillionaires, very closely tied to or even dependent on the leadership's patronage system.

He did well in removing the scales from the eyes and the parochial mindset of many bumiputeras. He gave them a much-needed self-belief which is undoubtedly important and laudable, for which they can at last become more confident and conscious of their self-worth. He must be credited for having unabashedly promoted the Malay agenda so that as an ethnic group, they can confidently become more fully engaged in the business and affairs of the nation and its development—and hence, could compete on equal footing in this globalised world.

Thus, in times of plenty, when the economy was growing at a vigorous clip, there was enough wealth to be spread around, and every Malaysian appeared to benefit. Hence, in many ways he also made Malaysians of all races, proud to be Malaysians, because of his visionary leadership. But his continued sanction of this affirmative action has also created a subclass of dependency, of crutch-mentality and easy handouts, of rentier capitalism and political largesse.

He also brooked little opposition, challenge to, or restraints on his style and his power, believing that as popularly-elected Premier and government, he had the mandate to rule without interference from the constitutional royalty, the oversight judiciary or the minority opposition. His idea of majoritarian rule appears to be one of absolutism.

His brand of power politics and autocratic rule unfortunately and systematically emasculated these same institutions—the judiciary became beholden and capitulated; the royalty had its wings clipped, and the pliant police were offered unfettered power in exchange for its unquestioning loyalty. Corruption and political patronage practices reached its height, and UMNO-supremacist ideologies pushed to its ultimate arrogant peaks.

Following the March 8 election debacle, he openly led the huge chorus of criticisms casting his blame on the weak leadership of Pak Lah and his family connections. Since then he has all but undermined our hapless prime minister. He has since found a new dimension to his once silenced voice—the resurgence of his acerbic tongue through his immensely popular blog chedet.com!

It appears that Mahathir has issues of not being able to forgive or forget, as he relentlessly pursue his Machiavellian vengeance on whoever crosses him... At 84 years old, he continues to remain as sharp and as artless as he had always been. Until Pak Lah leaves the scene, there is little doubt that Mahathir will continue to badger him and his administration, pulverising whatever little that's left...

As he has already commented, as long as he is alive, he will not keep silent when he feels things are not going his way, neither would he allow Malaysia's fortunes and gains (which he had bulit up over the decades) to be 'jeopardised'. I foresee that Dr M will continue to figure prominently in the coming 2009, health and God willing!

Shame! Another salacious saga we can do without…

“If thou speakest not I will fill my heart with thy silence and endure it. I will keep still and wait like the night with starry vigil and its head bent low with patience.
“The morning will surely come, the darkness will vanish, and thy voice pour down in golden streams breaking through the sky.
“Then thy words will take wing in songs from every one of my birds' nests, and thy melodies will break forth in flowers in all my forest groves.”
~ Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali

Once again the tawdry, the salacious and the senseless seemed to have besmirched our mainstream politics.

Malaysians have been and will be dragged through the mud of explicit sex education of the foulest, most humiliating theatrics, all in the name of rule by law, purportedly to honour the humble request of a lowly citizen who cried foul because he claimed to have been buggered by non other than a potential Prime Minister in waiting!

He must have justice and and his pound of flesh, and our usually lethargic institutions have been marshalled with supreme efficiency and speed, to charge the accused...

At this juncture, I confess to be being biased. Having followed the highs and lows of Anwar Ibrahim's career, his rhetoric and his writings, I have come to the conclusion that he comes across as someone whom I can relate to. This is not to say that I necessarily agree with him in toto, but his ideals, when he passionately articulates or writes on these, are in the right direction.

More than a decade ago when I chanced upon his book on "The Asian Renaissance" I then realised that perhaps finally we have in Malaysia a leader of intellectual quality and substance. Here is evidence of his attempt at urbane conversation as to his ideals and hopes, about what Asians (including Muslims and Malaysians) can do to excel and to engage with the changing modern world. I believe this underlies his enlightened sincerity and moral courage. It certainly is totally incongruous with the accusations that he is a sexual deviant and pervert. Like what any computer would say: it just “does not compute…”

It is true that he is not without flaws, but then again which politician is 'squeakily clean'? For that matter, who amongst men are infallible? Who amongst us are qualified to cast the first stone? Nevertheless, a fair number of people I've spoken to, are still somewhat wary of his seemingly changeable (some have even labelled him chameleon-like) stance on some contentious communal, educational, economic issues.

He has in a limited way acknowledged that he has had a pretty checkered and questionable past during his tenure within the National Front government. Then, some of his ministerial decisions seemed to have been less than convincing, occasionally erratic and some would even say scheming and yes even politically expedient.

But like most people who are learning, adapting and now willing to listen to constantly shifting groundswells of opinions and ideologies, he has personally disavowed some of his poorer judgements of the past. More importantly, he and his colleagues have shown that they have the citizen's welfare and wellbeing at heart, and that policies and ideas are modifiable to cater to the greater good and the better of intentions. (See his recent interview with Shawn Crispin of Asia Times in Malaysia Today.)

Can his avowed pledge to stamp out corruption and nepotism and to promote greater accountability be any less rousing and consonant with our own aspirations? Should one simply be skeptical just because these are too populist? After all, shouldn’t the public expect their mundane concerns to be the motivating foci of their elected representatives?

Perhaps modern politics require one to be adaptable and enduring—most importantly, a successful politician and leader must have an inexhaustible store of strong core values which must continue to underlie his/her basic philosophy for life and an unshakable belief in the general public good...

Notwithstanding all these, the past few years since his freedom from incarceration, have seen the emergence of another Anwar, one who has sufficient conviction and charisma to now cobble together a functional coalition, the Pakatan Rakyat.

For the first time in Malaysian history, we appear to have a truly workable indeed viable alternative, in what is now touted as the preferred modern political reality, i.e. a less fractious but more efficient 2-party system. A closely-balanced 2-party system would allow easier changes of government, because they serve as mutual counterweights, for gritty checks and balances, to forestall vested excesses, corruption and misrule.

These demarcated polities allow for citizens to decide periodically (every 4-5 years) which side they prefer, and also allow them to keep or to spurn when these elected representatives fail to live up to their promises and expectations. No longer can elected parliamentarians be allowed to keep their sinecures, when they are corrupt, ineffective or plainly inept.

For many Malaysians, this represents a new hope, a new spirit of renewal which seemed to have fizzled or disappeared from the vocabulary of the incumbent powers, under the fossilized mindset of the ruling party—50 years tend to entrench one into immovable fortresses of decay and decadence...

Alas, hopeful concepts translating into hard-nosed realities would not easy. Indeed, such a revolutionary change is always thought to be difficult if not impossible to achieve, what with the incumbent powers wielding all the aces in the pack of cards...

Our institutions have been battered and are perhaps at their lowest ebb in morale and certainly in respectability and trustworthiness—public perception of them are at their rock-bottom lows.

Yet, prolonged incumbency and ingrained power-beliefs tend to make our officers of these institutions, imperious and self-protective, dishing out their oft repeated echoes that might is right, and that as the authorities still in charge, they would broach no dissent to their dictates and pronouncements, as if these were cast in concrete!

Some have lamented that following the shock upset of the March 8, 2008 elections, the government has been locked down in denial mode, and are no longer listening—somehow our rakyat's voices seem to no longer carry the weight of sense and balance anymore. Not only are their protestations and queries falling on deaf ears, they are given a talking down to, instead!

Some have detected great consternation and disbelief among the unaccustomed politicians under siege. Many are still disbelieving that they are now in such a shaky position of power dilution. They are so angry and indignant, that they are now bent on punishing those whom they believed have wrought such an unprepared cataclysm upon them!

The Lingam video debacle chronicling unabashed tempering of the judiciary must take the cake for executive abuse and excesses. It reaffirmed the rakyat's distaste of a tainted legal system, and solidified its worst suspicion that some very senior judges who were then in cahoots with some lawyers, can be bought hook, line and sinker!

Worse, the then Attorney-General (AG, our legal system's highest office) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP, highest ranking police officer) have now been accused of misconduct, tempering of evidence and witnesses, allegedly during their then lesser roles and ranks in the 1998 public-relations disaster!

Thus, it is not surprising that for the hard-pressed police force and the AG’s office, they would be more inclined to easily believe a young strapping accuser, rather than to perhaps consider that the accuser might have been lying, and that other motives may be involved. What better way to resolve once and for all, such a festering boil of unprecedented proportions in the shape and form of Anwar Ibrahim?

Once again, the possibility of righting that expunged evidence and parading of the sex-stained and DNA-tainted mattress, that undignified black-eye incident they had suffered some ten years ago, might seem appealing…

But then they fail to understand that the rakyat are no longer pliant believers in whatever spins the authorities are dishing out. They want to know why and more. And that if that were to be the case, they are questioning why the police is not entertaining other possible scenarios other than the ‘scripted.’

Why indeed is it so much more believable that the accused is capable of such a crime, compared with other more heinous crimes for which statutory declarations have also been made against other VIPs? Why indeed, the differential treatment and fast-tracked energies to charge with such haste?

The rakyat wants to know who the accuser is acting for, and for what personal gains to expose one's most intimate soul, nay, even body part and name, to such a glare of cheap and shameless publicity?

But, I suppose it is possible that if one is truly sexually assaulted, then one's demand for justice can be very strong, to redress such a wrong of shameful 'assault' against one's nature... Although most if not all rape victims tend to be so traumatized and self-ashamed, they would avoid undue publicity at all costs…

Indeed, for many among the Malaysian public, we wonder who would benefit from this highly damaging and publicly humiliating "character assassination to silence an effective leader of the political opposition" (to quote former US vice-president Al Gore)?

It is patently obvious to all political pundits and even the most neutral observer, that perhaps such a high profile politician as Anwar Ibrahim has been too charismatic, too popular, and who is by all intents and purposes too ready and poised at the cusp of re-entering his much derailed political destiny...

Apparently, this momentum—this tryst with destiny must be stopped at all cost, some believe... The timeliness of it all must be serendipity at its chanciest best, any other lottery would have been more difficult to imagine.

Notwithstanding the inept denials by the highest echelons of our society, the undisguised attempt to charge the opposition designate leader with the religiously-tainted odium of sodomy, cannot be but starkly clear to all except those ostriches whose heads are buried in the sand of self-blinkered ignoramuses.

What was surprising is the fact that the final charge seemed to have been whittled down to one of consensual if illegal form of sex, i.e. sodomy, without the hint of assault (i.e. rape) and only on one occasion, at one locale. This is in spite of the earlier leaked reports and accusations that the "poor" victim pleading for justice had been "sexually assaulted" at least several times!

One wonders if this was the best that the police and prosecutors could come up with, because of the inadvertently-leaked medical report from Pusrawi Hospital which had found no such injury, and which would have made the later reports untenable, especially if totally discordant but exaggerated reports were to emerge just a few hours or days after the first examination!

Again, maybe because justice sometimes works in mysterious ways, another statutory declaration (SD) has emerged—this time by the same beleaguered Dr Mohamed Osman, on the harrowing and intimidating experience of trying to be true to his calling and profession. As a medical professional myself, I salute his valiant courage in steadfastly standing up to this impudent affront of such despicable pressure, if this were to be true.

Yet again, sadly, he has chosen to expose the machinations of certain powers through the only sane and foolhardy brave soul of RPK (Raja Petra Kamaruddin). Has this audacious web portal of Malaysia Today now become the bastion sanctuary for all whistle-blowers, because no other institution can now be trusted?

Not surprisingly though, the police is now investigating this SD with the view that it contains too many 'inaccuracies' and that it served to paint the police in a rather poor light... Once again, the police are upset. This SD’s authenticity is now in doubt, there are inconsistencies you see, so investigations are underway… Police CID chief has argued that this release of the SD is an attempt to undermine the police and discredit their work… "We strongly believe that this article is intended solely to skew public perception and to undermine police authority," Bakri said.

Alas, such is now what most Malaysians already know and believe. This SD is simply but one of a long litany of sequences of events which already has long undermined the credibility of the authorities even before this.

The police and the other institutions must now show us that they can rise above their waning rhetoric, indignant statements, selective prosecution, and show the public that they can be truly professional and impartial.

Would this be possible under such a climate of doubt and recriminations?

Or would salacity trump sagacity once again to the detriment of Malaysia…

Alas, who should the poor Malaysian public now believe?

An abbreviated article has been published in malaysiakini as Another salacious saga we can do without

Political Uncertainty, Credibility Crisis: Deja Vu?

Nearly ten years ago, I wrote a controversial commentary (reproduced in full below) in the MMA News, where I trenchantly belabored the fact that we were undergoing a severe credibility crisis, institutional collapse and gross dereliction of sanity amidst a mind-boggling series of exercise in political farce sweeping the nation, orchestrated by our then arrogant political masters.

It appears that once again these uncanny forces of mischief and mayhem are at it again... In an eerie remake of Machiavellian deja vu, Pakatan Rakyat de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has once again been smeared with a sex scandal. This is one not much different from that falsely engineered in 1998, and which was thrown out in court--"expunged" from its tainted records...

From several independent polls (see Sex scandal could backfire on gov't: analysts and Poll: Almost everyone thinks Anwar's innocent) this time round, more than 90% don't believe this new allegation, with as many pointing to a conspiracy by certain powers that be.

Cynicism is at an all time high, and many among the rakyat are deeply angered and dismayed that this has come to pass again. Will they never learn? How much more battering can our badly tarnished national image take?

Or are our political machinations so cynical and desperate that every possible last gasp perfidious measure has to be taken, to stay in power at all cost, regardless of the Pyrrhic victory and the collateral damage all around...

"When a state legitimates itself successfully the costs of achieving its goals will be low; if it fails to persuade others, it has to resort to costly force or bribes. If it fails to persuade itself, it soon crumbles. All power ... and ... all leaders are vulnerable to the trap of confusing fictions and truths--believing that if only they can find the right turn of phrase or explanation they will solve the real-life problem that lies behind it."~ Geoff Mulgan, in Good and Bad Power: The Ideals and Betrayals of Government, Penguin Books, London, 2007, pp105.

May God Save Malaysia!


Political Uncertainty, Credibility Crisis and the Malaysian Dilemma

“Every country has the duty to safeguard its peace and internal security. But it must in some sense merit that peace by ensuring the welfare of all and respect for their rights. Where justice is lacking, society is threatened from within. This does not mean that the changes required should be realized through violence, for violence merely paves the way for a violent society, to which, we cannot subscribe. What it does mean is that there are social changes, sometimes very profound ones, that must be brought about ... by peaceful reforms.” ~ Pope John Paul II

"The past month or so (this was written in October 1998) has witnessed an unprecedented barrage of events, which have left many Malaysians, numbed and bewildered.

Never before have there been so many provocative happenings; that have stirred the imaginations or the talking points of so many Malaysians: from taxi drivers, office workers, kampung folks, to students, academics and professionals from every walk of life.

As medical practitioners, we have not been spared the conflicting tensions, which have divided our ranks. Pro- and anti-establishment opinions have emerged: one favoring stability and the status quo, and the other defending righteousness, openness and justice.

Despite the political underpinnings inherent in these intriguing debates and discussions, the looming threat that “politics be best left to politicians” is clearly considered inappropriate.

These issues, which have developed from day to day, have proven far too important and significant for every man in the street to ignore or to remain silent. Thus every peace-loving but fair-minded citizen should become interested, and perhaps take a stand, although not necessarily publicly, but at least to appease one’s own conscience and sanity of mind.

Every Malaysian must necessarily be interested in our own political development, because politics ultimately affect every one of us. More importantly perhaps, is the growing perception that good governance of any nation should be open to fair criticism or appraisal from its own citizens. Elected leaders can no longer expect their every action or conduct to be embraced as absolute truths or without faults.

Human mistakes or unforeseen errors of judgment will inevitably occur. As such, it is appropriate and a sign of enlightened leadership to accept that these should be pointed out by concerned citizens. A paternalistic and authoritarian approach is no longer acceptable or apropos with the times.

One important sign of our rakyat’s burgeoning maturity and malaise is the increasingly powerful feeling that loyalty to our country and sovereignty does not equate with blind loyalty or allegiance to political leaders.

If anything, more and more people are beginning to question the actions and excesses of some of our elected leaders. They can no longer count on unquestioning loyalty or trust from the ordinary people, as their right, if they, the elected representatives choose to carry out arbitrary and repugnant actions which run counter to the sense of justice or aspirations of the rakyat.

Moreover, there is an expanding belief that our local media have been too blatantly biased, and are fast losing much of their credibility. Repetitious and relentless one-sided propaganda can only harden the public’s sense of outrage and incredulity with the press, especially when the sense of fair play is felt to be lost in the growing power play among our political leaders.

It is worthwhile pondering on what Rose Ismail, a newspaper editor has to say: “The accusations hurled at some of us have been hurtful. Even my father no longer reads my newspaper because he has chosen to believe what he finds in the Internet.” She admitted that some had accused the media of being biased (NST, Oct 22, 1998, page 5).

Something must be grossly amiss when ordinary people no longer feel they can trust the usual mainstream newspapers. Something must be wrong, when even our previously taciturn yet steadfastly supportive neighbours begin to raise their eyebrows and question the sudden about-turn in our much-vaunted and much-respected democratic principles and practices.

Once, these were the envy of many, particularly in the third world. Once, we were the de facto Asian voice of reason and leadership, much respected, and held high in esteem for many.

Now we appear to be the butt of international rebuke. We appear to be sliding into a self-defensive outcast mentality. We begin to decry the perceived foreigners’ interference and loudly denounce every contrarian opinion from within and without. We appear to be testy, paranoid, and enshrouded under the mushrooming cloud of a siege mentality.

In this age of all-consuming globalization, it is certainly not in Malaysia’s interest to hunker down in the trenches, and hope for the economic holocaust to blow over. We must take every prudent step to stay connected and make the necessary structural and socio-economic reforms, to prevent us from being totally sidetracked by the world's rapidly transforming economic and market re-adjustments.

Media editors and journalists must take cognizance of the fact that unless they show greater objectivity and sensitivity, and not play along one-sided, offensively crude but judgmental slants, they will be rendered irrelevant as purveyors of the truth or facts of any nature. Just as we rightly condemn distorted news reporting from the foreign press, can we not expect that our local media resist and desist from such diametrically opposite malpractices?

In this harrowing climate, can the discerning Malaysian be blamed for wanting to seek a different viewpoint? Never before has any one person in Malaysian history been so publicly vilified, and condemned, (perhaps even mentally and physically brutalized?), in such a tawdry trial by sanctioned media, without due process of the law, without giving the accused the equal opportunity of right of reply, or to defend himself.

No one questions the prerogative of any national leader to dismiss any or even all of his ministers, but must the media be party to the vile and quasi-pornographic depictions on the front-pages, to justify support for those purported crimes? Surely, everyone deserves some semblance of respect for the law, to allow natural justice to be carried out, by due process.

Even in Malaysia, any accused must be regarded as not guilty until proven otherwise in the court of law. Are we entering a new political era where we can now summarily accuse, judge and then sentence anyone in the courtroom of the mass media? Are we not edging perilously close to a totalitarian, a fascist or a police state?

Lopsided news with suppression or censorship of legitimate dissenting views appear to be the new order of the day, particularly conspicuous, after the sudden resignations of the editors of two major newspapers, and the CEO of a TV station. In their places have sprung sycophantic and jaundiced justifications and diatribes, which further strain the press’ objectivity and belie their underlying motives.

Taken together, this smacks of a concerted yet preemptive strike by the authorities that be, to stifle or restrict possible voices of dissent. This augurs poorly and alarmingly for constitutional freedom of expression, so jealously guarded by all modern Malaysians.

Thus, we as ordinary citizens and as concerned professionals should be aware that, the shape of our society, now and in the future, would depend upon our acceptance or resistance of the rapidly changing sociopolitical landscape that we have been thrust into.

While all of us eschew social and political unrest and uncertainty, and renounce violence of all sorts, we must not fear change or reform for the better. For sure it is safer and far more comfortable to adhere to the status quo: “better the devil you know than the one you don’t.”

However, we should also realize that ultimately our children and we would have to inherit whatever legacy the present quandary leaves behind. We might be saddled with an immense but fossilized yoke of outmoded autocracy – one that might be impossible to crack, henceforth.

We could be retreating several decades back in time in terms of sociopolitical development, where all our hard-fought civil liberty becomes consumed in the fires of authoritarian might and dictates. Our way of life and freedom to choose, might become the ossified relics of autocratic decrees of potential neo-colonialists and despots.

In discussing revitalization of society, philosopher Dr Alfred North Whitehead, had said that “the art of free society consists first in the maintenance of the symbolic code, and secondly, in the fearlessness of revision... Those societies, which cannot combine reverence to their symbols with freedom of revision, must ultimately decay...”

As concerned citizens and as part of the caring profession, we as doctors urge the powers that be to re-examine their individual conscience vis-à-vis their own political agendas and temper these with that of the nation. We hope that we will not slowly slip into the quicksand of “Might is Right” mindset.

We urge the authorities to reconsider their progressively heavy-handed approach in trying to stifle legitimate expressions of dissent, through peaceful but visible means. While all of us do not wish for mob rule or political unrest which could undermine our peace-loving yet fragile multicultural society, we must explore the reasons why, such spontaneous expressions of dissent as demonstrations, are sprouting up, again and again, in defiance of our usual love for law and order. Could it be because, there are no other legitimate avenues for popular dissent?

When a restless populace becomes frustrated and disenchanted with the establishment, can it not justifiably resort to some other form of protest, where they can make their views be heard or seen? While we do not condone any violence, can we not respect the right of the people to assemble peacefully, despite the inconvenience this might bring about to some of us?

Do we need to constantly harp on the potential dangers of unintentional racial flare-ups, when there is no such ethnic tension to begin with? Should the spectre of remote ethnic unrest forever deter us from fair or rational thinking in supporting a just course, in wanting a more liberal and open society?

Or do we subsume to a climate of insidious yet not-too-subtle intimidation and repression? Are we to be forever ruled by circumstances and fear of the bogeyman May13, 1969?

We are pained that peaceful and orderly demonstrations have been routed into running street battles with the police, who should be the logical safeguards and not the heavy-handed enforcers of the law. Violent repression of unarmed and otherwise peaceful people cannot be justified, under any circumstances.

Brutality and torture of whatever form exercised in the apprehension of non-resisting law-breakers or those already in custody is never acceptable in today’s civil society. The right of anyone in captivity or under detention to be treated humanely, without arbitrary excesses of either physical or mental torture, and to be legally represented, is a treasured universal human right, which we should never compromise with.

Similarly, Malaysians who feel strongly that they want to protest or demonstrate must remember that they should never resort to violence – as violence begets more violence. They should consider that it is far more worthwhile and effective to espouse the great philosophy of passive non-violent resistance (satyagraha), as so passionately championed by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Therefore, we plead with the authorities to temperate their exuberance of law enforcement with a touch of humanity, in trying to tame down a restless yet peaceful if vociferous crowd. They must exercise the greatest restraint when carrying out their difficult tasks of enforcing the law particularly on an unarmed but passionate people, even if they believed them to be misguided.

We hope and pray for a return to sanity and dialogue, so that the painful events that have erupted thus far be made a thing of the past. We urge that justice and reform be allowed to showcase our political maturity in tackling sociopolitical differences.

Malaysians must resist the temptation to allow the looming spectre of absolutist repression or violent social upheaval from changing our social and political landscape, forever."

[Editorial Commentary in Berita MMA (MMA News), October 1998]