WILL  ISA  SAVE MAHATHIR?

13.04.2001

Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's unprepared and feeble reaction to the lightning police swoop on Opposition leaders using the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) leaves little room for imagination as to who ordered the crackdown on the Opposition (the Home Minister is in charge of the police).   He can be none other than the Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

That this ISA crackdown is an unconstitutional move is evident from the clumsy act of concoction put up by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Norian Mai to justify the exercise of the powers under Section 73(1) and Section 8 of the Internal Security Act 1960.  Deliberate weaving of falsehood by the top guardians of the Constitution to crush legitimate political opposition in violation of the Constitution (Section 10) under these circumstances is an act of treason against the Constitution.  These offenders have betrayed the trust of the people, and should be branded as traitors, to be prosecuted for treason.

In his press conference to justify the ISA crackdown, Norian attempted to convince the Nation and the world that there was a plot to topple the Government by unconstitutional means.  But all the statements made by Norian are either untrue, innuendoes, or mere speculations.  None could withstand a rudimentary scrutiny.

Norian alleged that the 7 leaders arrested under the ISA were among a 20 member secret  militant group planning to stage large scale MILITANT demonstrations, the most important of which is the coming "Black 14" (14th of April), which was to commemorate the second anniversary of the conviction of Anwar Ibrahim.

When asked to describe in what ways the reformasi demonstrators have carried out their "militant" operation, Norian asked: "What is meant by militant?"  He then referred to the demonstrations in 1998 (soon after Anwar was arrested) and said "Molotov cocktails" were then used against the police, and asked: "Is that not militant?"

When pressed repeatedly to clarify whether there had been any recovery of weapons during the swoop on the activists this time, he could only come up with the lame answer: "the tongue is mightier than weapons", which is a tacit admission that no weapon was found, nor any indication that there was any weapon.

It is clear from these conversations that Norian has no basis to label the demonstrations "militant."  That he had to go back to 1998 to dig out something (a few Molotov cocktails) that could hardly be described as weapon to support his case is confirmation of this fact.

The truth is, in spite of all of Norian's ballyhoo of militancy and weapons, since the  incidents in 1998, the only exhibition of militancy was that from the police, and the only weapon recovered was a toy gun recovered from an 18 year old student during a similar crackdown on last year's "Back 14" commemoration, save in that instant, the penal code instead of ISA was used to arrest the Opposition.  On that occasion, the police and the paramilitary staged one of the largest military like operation ever seen in this Country to ward off pending public commemoration of Anwar's conviction all over the Country.  Kuala Lumpur city was then infested with police and security personnel armed to the teeth, roadblocks were set up at all strategic locations, and potential participants were searched, harassed, turned back and arrested.  In that mammoth operation, the nearest to a weapon that the police could boast of having recovered from the demonstrators was a toy gun.  And the only violence reported was police chasing and beating up participants.  That episode was the most eloquent testimony to the weapon free and violence free nature of Alternative Front's street demonstrations.  In fact, the impeccable record of non-violence by the Alternative Front has stood to this day, true to its avowed principle of constitutional struggles.

Since no weapon has been uncovered, what evidence has Norian obtained to support his claim that the coming presentation of the Memorandum on Human Rights to the Human Rights Commission on Black 14 will threaten national security?  None whatsoever!  The only basis of Norian's action is his statement: "This gathering and march has the POTENTIAL to turn into a riot."

For the police chief of a country to make mass arrests of the leaders of an Opposition party using the most draconian of laws and basing on unfounded personal speculative thoughts (not backed by any past experience), Norian can count on the distinction of having performed the most bizarre police act in any democracy.  He must have done Mahathir proud by adding another feather to Mahathir's cap of "Malaysia Boleh!"

It is not difficult to understand why Mahathir has resorted to the desperado act of using the ISA to crush the Opposition, something he has not done since 1987.  This could be his last ditch battle for survival, having recently suffered rapid-fire loss of credibility through a spate of scandalous massive bailout of cronies using public funds, in the back drop of a plunging economy.  Having lost his credibility, Mahathir's recent economic boosters have been cold shouldered by the market.  His 3 billion ringgit package to counter falling exports to the US was met with a further decline in the stock market.  And his Third Outline Perspective Plan (2001 - 2010) (OPP3), which painted a rosy economic scenario for the next ten years and was meant to be a moral booster, actually met with an even more calamitous fate when the stock market went into a steep plunge following the  presentation of OPP3.

With mounting public outrage over the financial mishandling and the continuing cruelty on Anwar, and with the economy continuing to decline, the prospect of Mahathir's political survival appears dimmer by the day.  Mahathir's survival instinct has driven him to take the gamble of using the ISA to crush his opponents.

The ISA seemed to have worked wonders for Mahathir the last time in 1987.  Can he repeat the same performance?

No way.  Simply because in 1987, his opponent was the mainly non-Malay DAP, and his power base of Malay electorate was intact.  Besides, there was some semblance of justification to use the ISA then due to rising racial tension, which was in part deliberately created by UMNO to justify the use of ISA.

This time around, Mahathir's opponents are the Malay masses, which were his original power base; and there was no racial tension in spite of Mahathir's strenuous efforts to create one.

History will not repeat itself for Mahathir.  The blatant abuse of ISA is a flagrant violation of our Constitution and an unforgivable assault to common decency.  It has affronted the conscience of the entire Nation, and further consolidated the unity of the Opposition front.  Not even Mahathir's close associates and hardcore supporters could find their voice to join ranks with him.

A word of advice to the Inspector General of Police.  The sworn duty of the police is to safeguard law and order and to uphold the Constitution, and not to be a partisan player in the political arena.  The police duty with respect to a public demonstration is to ensure that the demonstration takes place peacefully, with minimum inconvenience to the public.  It is not the business of the police to stop a peaceful demonstration from taking place, simply because such a demonstration is politically undesirable to the ruling partly.  Worse, when the IGP collaborates with the ruling party to persecute legitimate political dissenters in clear violation of the Constitution, he becomes a violator of the Constitution and is accountable for his crime in the court of law, when justice is restored to this Country.


Kim Quek