02.09.2000
Prime Minister Mahathir’s Merdeka Day speech is an attempt to frighten
and
confuse Malaysians into embracing his leadership with his paranoid
and
xenophobic rhetoric. It is a clear sign of a fallen leader desperately
grasping
the last straw of survival. Otherwise, how can any one explain
the total void
of substance in his paranoia of grave internal and external threat
to this
Country?
Mahathir tried to create an atmosphere of emergency, painting the Country
as
under attack from Chinese "extremists" (Suqiu), terrorists (Al-Ma’unah),
"slanderous" Internet websites (pro reform groups) and foreign
"colonizers" (developed countries). His scenario of impending
calamities is
followed of course by his usual assurance that all would be well if
everyone
unites under his leadership.
Malaysians may already be familiar with this type of Mahathir rhetoric,
but on
this occasion, his Merdeka Day message carries serious implications
and
potential hazards to this Country.
First and foremost, we should realize that Mahathir is facing the most
serious
crisis in his entire political life. The recent conviction of
Anwar has
practically completed his downfall in the hearts and minds of all Malays
except
those hardcore who are tied to him for materialistic considerations.
His fall
in the eyes of the civilized world outside this Country is equally
thumping,
being contemptuously and savagely criticized by leaders and mass media
of the
entire democratic world. Even in his home ground of Asean, where
leaders are
refrained from comments due to agreed Asean protocol, local media in
these
countries were unrestrained in lashing out attacks on Mahathir for
his unjust
persecution of Anwar, accusing Mahathir of subverting Malaysia’s democratic
institutions through the course of it.
A thick skin leader (self-confessed) like Mahathir may not be completely
worn
down by this severe loss of face and credibility, but he will not survive
politically when his own race, who forms the backbone of political
power in his
country, desert him. Mahathir knows better than anybody that
how long he
survives politically hinges on how much Malay support he can regain.
How to regain Malay support? There is the honorable way and there
is also the
not so honorable way. Knowing Mahathir’s character, forget about
the honorable
way, which is to repent and reform.
Looking at the not so honorable options, an easy way out for Mahathir
is to dish
out material benefits in abundance to lure support in the form of cash,
loans,
padded up contracts and privatized projects, attractive government
and corporate
positions etc, however, these facilities have already been fully utilized.
So
what choice does Mahathir have now other than creating issues that
will cause
the Malays to flock back to UMNO? And what better issues than
that Malay
special rights are challenged immediately by Chinese extremists, and
potentially
by foreigner colonizers ?
That UMNO has deliberately created an artificial challenge to Malay
rights to
divert attention from the catastrophic fall out from the Anwar conviction,
is
born out by the following events:
1. On 14th August, 6 days after Anwar was convicted, UMNO controlled
Utusan
Malaysia splashed the headline "ABOLISH MALAY SPECIAL RIGHTS"
The news was that
David Chua, Deputy Chairman of the National Economic Consultative Committee
II
(NECC II), was advocating the abolishment of Malay special rights,
the contents
of which was published earlier in the Far East Economic Review (FEER)
dated 10th
August. This news was followed by hue and cry from UMNO leaders,
who sternly
warned against any challenge to the Malay rights.
The point to make here is that that FEER issue dated 10th August was
on sales in
Malaysia on 7th August. If the Chua interview in FEER was such
a dreadful and
unforgivable violation of the most sacrosanct of Malay rights, why
should Utusan
Malaysia have waited for one week before it decided to sensationalise
the issue?
Was it because only by that time had the full impact of the Anwar disaster
been
sunk in and the Chua interview was found to be a handy diversion then?
2. The Chua controversy was short-lived, as it was found to be a non-issue.
In
the FEER interview, Chua, a loyal member of the Ruling Party, was merely
disclosing an existing fact, that NECC II was contemplating a gradual
relaxation
of Malay preferences and quotas within the context of enhancing Malay
competitiveness within the larger context of the imminent liberalization
of
regional and world trade. Chua did not give even the slightest
indication that
Malay special rights as enshrined in the Constitution would be amended
or
challenged. Neither would it have been imaginable that NECC II,
which is
dominated by the upper echelon of Malay society, could be entertaining
such a
move.
3. After the abortive Chua controversy, UMNO quickly found a new target
through
which it attempted to prolong and escalate the "challenge to Malay
rights" issue.
This time it was the Malaysian Chinese Organisation Election Appeal
Committee
(Suqiu), which was then holding a private meeting to commemorate its
first
anniversary on 16th August (no press was invited). 2 days later,
on 18th
August, UMNO Youth, led by its Deputy Leader and numbering more than
one
hundred, staged a violent demonstration with inflammatory and racist
placards in
front of the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (symbol of the Chinese
community),
assaulting reporters and threatening to burn the building, before handing
over
the memorandum of protest to Suqiu , which was then holding a meeting
inside the
building. Suqiu promptly invited UMNO Youth to have a dialogue,
but was rudely
rejected.
4. The crucial point to consider in this latest Suqiu controversy is
that the 17
Appeals by Suqiu was presented one year ago, the acceptance of which
by the
ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) was widely publicized in the newspapers,
with some
BN leaders declaring these Appeals as “universal principles, meant
to benefit
all races. So why should these same Appeals suddenly become so
offensive as to
warrant unprovoked violence and condemnation by the same ruling party
now? And
why staged the protest at this particular time?
5. The 17 Appeal by Suqiu is a document presented to all political parties
one
year ago, prior to the run up of an anticipated National Election.
This
document is in effect an all-embracing platform of a good government,
based on
universally accepted principles of democracy, human rights and good
governance,
tailor suit to the peculiar political circumstances existing in this
Country.
Apart from spelling the salient points of good governance, it also
advocates
corrections to many serious weaknesses of the current government, including
abolishment/amendment to many undemocratic legislations which violate
basic
human rights, elimination of rampant corruption and cronyism and re-establishing
the independence of democratic institutions such as the judiciary,
attorney
general’s chamber, election commission, anti-corruption agency etc.
6. Where this document runs aground with certain Malays is its advocacy
to
de-emphasize racial differentiation in the running of the affairs of
this
Country. UMNO angrily claims it is a violation of Malay rights,
while Suqiu
insists that it has not challenged the special position of Malays as
enshrined
in the Constitution. The Opposition’s view is that the Barisan
Nasional
leadership has massively abused the Affirmative Action Policy to enrich
its
cronies to the neglect of the poor Malays, and opposes the current
UMNO campaign
to whip up Malay animosity against the Chinese.
7. From the historical point of view, there is no doubt that Mahathir
has
massively abused the Affirmative Policy to build up an extensive crony
capitalism fraught with rampant corruption, akin to Suharto’s Indonesia,
albeit
on a smaller scale. The correct approach to the present controversy
is the
commissioning of a body comprising all political shades and races to
carry out a
comprehensive review of the past implementation of this Policy with
a view to
eliminate abuses, excesses and failures and to improve on the substance
and
implementation so that the entire Malay and Bumiputra societies can
genuinely
benefit while minimizing inconveniences and handicaps to the non-bumiputras.
Equal emphasis must also be given to the other component of this Policy,
which
has hitherto been neglected, that is, the eradication of poverty irrespective
of
races. As this Policy is an interim measure to uplift the social
and economic
status of the bumiputras, a concrete schedule must be drawn up now
to
progressively reduce the scale of this Policy so that bumiputras are
given an
extra push to meet the targets while an egalitarian society can eventually
be
achieved.
8. That UMNO has attempted to whip up Malay anger and alarm on an artificial
issue is glaringly shown by the fact that its outbursts on violation
of Malay
rights are totally unjustified and uncalled for. FIRST, Suqiu’s
Appeal is an
old and dormant issue, and it had not taken any step to highlight any
racial
issues when Utusan Malaysia suddenly splashed a headline on it, followed
by a
violent swoop by UMNO Youth at lightning speed. SECOND, political
realities of
this Countries are such that Bumiputra dominance of political power
is absolute
and beyond any question. No sane person would imagine it possible
that Malay
special position as enshrined in the Constitution can even be touched
without
the concurrence of the Bumiputras. The Chinese know it, so do
the Malays. So
where come the panic and anxieties? THIRD, Suqiu’s Appeal is
mere appeals; they
are not even demands. It is up to any political party including
the ruling pary
to accept or reject in total or in part. There is no ultimatum
or threat, hence
no challenge, least of all to a constitutional amendment. FOURTH,
when faced
with a violent confrontation, Suqiu took the most appropriate step
under the
circumstances, which was to invite UMNO Youth to a dialoque.
Why did UMNO Youth
reject a dialoque outright if it thought it was standing on just ground?
Was it
due to guilty conscience for raising a storm in a tea cup?
ON AL-MA’UNAH
The raising of the Al-Ma’unah issue by Mahathir is in fact a smoke screen
thrown
by him to heighten the sense of insecurity among Malaysians as
well as to give
a façade of balance to his speech in which he attacked both
Suqiu and Al-Ma’unah
as Chinese "extremists" and Malay "extremists" respectively. Al-Ma’unah
is an
aberration in society that may occur in any country. It is an
isolated event of
a small group of misled individuals, purportedly attempting to achieve
their
objectives (whatever these are) by violence. It poses neither
security nor
political threat to this Country. Perhaps what Malaysians have
to be more
worried about is the appalling lack of security in our army camps.
FOREIGN COLONISERS
Mahathir has alleged a hundred times, repeating like a parrot, that
foreign
powers jealous of our success are constantly out to re-colonise us,
without
identifying for one single instant what these powers are. We
presume he means
the developed countries.
If these foreign creatures are so dreadful, why has he and his ministers
made so
many trips to these countries making overtures and practically begging
these
dreadful foreigners to come to investment in our Country? In
spite of
Mahathir’s frequent boasts in mass rally that this Country has progressed
on our
own effort and without foreign help, can he really pick up enough courage
to
tell to the face of a professional audience that Malaysia’s spectacular
economic
growth of the past decade was not due in large measure to foreign investment?
In this respect, ironically we have to give credit to where it is due
: to
Mahathir’s visionary leadership in the timely liberalizing of the Malaysian
market to foreigners at the turn of the last decade. It is this
open door
policy more than anything else that has brought about the spurt in
our
industrialization and international trade, bringing us unprecedented
prosperity
and advancement.
The tragedy with Mahathir is that his ego was crippled by the recent
Asian
Financial Crisis, and he has not recovered since. He has doggedly
refused to
admit that in the recent Crisis, Malaysia’s fall, in particulars the
Bumiputra
entrepreneurs, was due principally to Malaysia’s structural weaknesses,
namely,
poor economic planning, indisciplined banking and reckless expansion,
all in a
decadent atmosphere of rapidly growing corruption and cronyism.
Instead of
taking the bitter medicine, like South Korea for instant, Mahathir
has lashed
out at the foreigners with a vengeance, and retreated inwards.
His increasing
antagonism against the liberalization of markets stands in stark contrast
to
some of the neighbours, like Singapore, which has substantially brought
forward
its original schedule to liberalize its banking and telecommunication
industries
to foreigners. Mahathir tragically forgets that, it is this same
liberalizing
policy that has brought him so much glory and acclaim in the past.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
I have said earlier that Mahathir’s Merdeka Day speech may bring serious
consequences to this Country. This is because if Malaysians,
particularly
Malays, are taken in by Mahathir’s falsehood, this Country may plunge
to greater
depths of misfortune.
By then, Malays may re-align their political allegiance, not on the
principles
of justice, democracy and good governance, but on racial suspicion
and
divisiveness. This will weaken the Alternative Front, throwing
back the
political progress that has been so laboriously achieved by so many.
And if Malaysians in general believe in Mahathir’s doctrine of foreign
devils
and foolish self-reliance, then we will all be in for a bleak economic
future.
To the good fortune of all Malaysians, Malays in the Alternative Front
do not
appear to have responded enthusiastically to UMNO’s racial call, and
this may
yet be a turning point in our political history where Malays are more
pulled to
good governance than to parochial racial interests. For this
transformation, we
have to thank the inspiring leadership of Anwar, whose stoic and impeccable
stature in the face severe adversity has given courage and encouragement
to his
supporters. If Malays have weathered well against the current
UMNO campaign to
incite racial animosity, then Anwar should at least have the consolation
that
his sufferings have not been completely in vain.
Kim Quek