At a closed-door meeting with 2,000 Umno leaders in Kuala Lumpur last
weekend, Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad again warned that they face an
increasingly hostile environment. The prime minister earlier held a
rare dialogue with government information chiefs on "foreign media
coverage of the Anwar verdict and sentiments on the ground".
Mahathir alleges that opposition activists across a broad spectrum are
instigating the people to "hate the government", but offers no
remedies nor reasons for the ruling party's mounting political
problems on the ground. This has left party leaders with the feeling
that events have somehow overtaken them and rendered obsolete the old
ways of tackling political issues at the grassroots.
While Dr Mahathir is referring to the situation in the kampungs, the
picture elsewhere is increasingly hostile, as articulated by US State
Secretary Madeline Albright's remark in the wake of the Anwar verdict:
"There are lots of things that Dr Mahathir has done that I don't think
serve Malaysia well and are not within the spirit of how Asian
countries are evolving. There are certain countries where people
deserve better and Malaysia is one of them. The country deserves
better than its current prime minister Dr Mahathir."
Deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi echoed his
chief: "Umno members cannot just run away from the problem caused by a
certain group but must meet with the people and explain the real
struggle of the party," he said when briefing the press on the PWTC
meet. "Dr Mahathir warned Umno members to be prepared at all times to
face whatever challenges and problems are posed by this group."
Says information minister and Umno secretary-general Tan Sri Khalil
Yaakob: "This is most dangerous because when the hatred reaches a
certain stage, they would be willing to use any means including the
use of weapons to achieve certain things."
The current situation, admits chief secretary to the government Tan
Sri Abdul Halim Ali, would result in disunity among civil servants if
left unchecked. "I fear that if political sentiments are allowed free
rein and be imbued in civil servants, it will affect their daily
duties and professionalism," says Halim. "The situation is all the
more alarming with moves by these groups to also use Islam to create
discord among civil servants. Religious talks and khutbah were being
held with the subtle message to hate the government and its leaders."
Other subjects being raised in the campaign have been recycled from
the charges of corruption, cronyism, collusion and nepotism leveled
since September 1998 at the government following the sacking of former
deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Mention has also been
made that the government has issued veiled threats that Anwar may face
several more charges for unspecified crimes.
Whether Umno can turn the hostile environment around before the next
general elections, expected in 2004, remains uncertain. Opposition
activists led by Keadilan Youth have pledged a new nationwide movement
against Dr Mahathir as part of the Free Anwar campaign coordinated by
Raja Petra Kamarudin, a grey-bearded pipe-smoking intellectual, who
has equipped himself with a Yamaha Virago because "it is built for the
quick exit."
"I have never seen this kind of tyranny before," said Mohamad Ezam
Mohamad Nor, Keadilan Youth leader, on the sidelines of four public
demonstrations following the Anwar verdict on Aug 8. "What happened at
Anwar's trial clearly proves how cruel a person Mahathir is. The
people must rise to fight oppression and leaders who are cruel and
evil."
Adds Lokman Nor Adam, another Keadilan Youth leader: "This [verdict]
is a political crime perpetrated by Mahathir. He wants to ensure that
Anwar sits in jail and dies there."
Security officials fear their worst nightmares will be realised should
activists zero in on Friday prayers at mosques throughout the country
and stage demonstrations. The first of such demonstrations was staged
last Friday by a 300-strong crowd outside the National Mosque in Kuala
Lumpur, followed by similar demonstrations outside the Human Rights
Commission and the Sungei Buloh prison where Anwar has been
incarcerated. The prime minister's official residence, a stone's throw
from the Putrajaya mosque, waits like a sitting duck should activists
masquerading as Friday worshippers head in that direction to vent
their feelings.
"The blind support is now gone," says M Nasir, protem chairman of the
Socialist Party, which is awaiting registration. "People have lost
confidence now in our courts, our democracy."
Adds Lim Guan Eng, national vice-chairman of the Democratic Action
Party (DAP): "Umno will be particularly hard hit by the Anwar factor.
I don't see Umno regaining support among the Malays as long as
Mahathir is there, particularly among the young. But if Mahathir
leaves, then the whole scenario will change."
That Dr Mahathir is the target of the antipathy has been confirmed by
Umno Wanita Chief Datuk Seri Paduka Rafidah Aziz. "Do not leave the
country's leader alone in handling the various problems," she urged
party members on Sunday in Kangar. "We must also be with him and do
our part." Rafidah criticised the "attitude of silence among certain
party leaders who want to safeguard their links with groups making
wild accusations."