Desperate Mahathir gives Malaysia b

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Headlines 

      Desperate Mahathir gives
      Malaysia black eye

      The bashing of Anwar Ibrahim while in
      police custody has unveiled the level to
      which Malaysian authorities would stoop in
      persecuting him, writes Steven Gan. 

      When Malaysia's former No 2, Anwar
      Ibrahim, walked into court this week
      sporting a swollen eye and bruised arm,
      die-hard government supporters wasted no
      time to put a spin on this rather
      embarrassing fact. One explained: ''Anwar
      hit himself on the eye and in so doing hurt
      his arm.'' After all, said another, it was his
      right arm and left eye which were wounded. 

      How neat. And that appeared to be Prime
      Minister Mahathir Mohamad's line of
      defence too: Anwar's injuries, he alluded,
      were ''self-inflicted''. 

      Over the past few weeks, incredulity has
      clearly been stretched to the limit. Accused
      by Mahathir for a litany of crimes -- sodomy,
      sedition, corruption, treason -- Anwar is
      now said to have bashed himself to gain
      sympathy. On Tuesday, Anwar testified in
      court that when he was arrested some 12
      days, police had handcuffed, blindfolded
      and beaten him unconscious. As a result,
      he could hardly open his eye the next day. 

      If anything, this latest twist should prompt
      more people to open their eyes to the
      creeping authoritarianism which has
      marked Mahathir's 17-year rule. At least
      one man did. Chandra Muzaffar, a
      university professor who was a former
      Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee -- the
      same draconian law which Anwar is
      arrested -- had in the past defended the
      police against criticisms of brutality. When
      a few NGOs sought to organise a public
      tribunal on police violence two years ago,
      Chandra rushed to the police's defence. 

      But after Anwar's disclosure in court, he
      changed his mind. ''I must confess that I'm
      totally disillusioned with the police. There is
      no justification at all for subjecting any
      detainee or any human being in police
      custody to assault or torture,'' he said. 

      ''Indeed, the assault upon the former deputy
      prime minister has set many hitherto
      passive and uncommitted Malaysians
      thinking. They are asking: What is
      happening to our country? Have we lost our
      sense of decency? How is it that the men
      who manage the security of the nation have
      become so cruel and so inhuman? Have
      we deteriorated to such a despicable level
      that we are no longer distinguishable from
      Pinochet's Chile and Abacha's Nigeria?'' 

      That so many Malaysians had wool pulled
      over their eyes was in part due to the
      muzzled media. Operating as government
      mouthpieces, the media has helped put a
      gloss on the regime. For example, on
      Monday, Malaysian leading
      English-language newspaper New Straits
      Times, in a rambling editorial ''Without fear
      or favour'' defended the government
      against charges that Anwar would be hard
      pressed to get a fair trial. 

      ''There is no reason for Anwar to doubt the
      judiciary's integrity as it is the same one
      which he presented his grievances with and
      successfully secured an injunction against
      the publication and circulation of the book
      entitled '50 Reasons Why Anwar Cannot be
      Prime Minister','' it stated. 

      Not mentioned in the editorial, however,
      was that the judge who gave the injunction
      on the poison-pen book which contained a
      dizzying array of allegations against Anwar,
      was subsequently transferred. Also not
      mentioned was that despite the court ruling,
      the book was openly distributed to the party
      faithful during the general assembly of the
      ruling United Malays National Organisation
      (Umno) in a bid to malign Anwar. 

      Not surprisingly, many Malaysians have
      developed the knack of reading between
      the lines. Indeed, those who do have a
      rudimentary memory of recent events would
      know that torture in police custody is not
      uncommon. Police spokesperson Ghazali
      Mohamad Amin, in reacting to Anwar's
      complaints, said such violence was
      ''nothing new''. It had happened before, he
      pointed out. He is right. 

      There was a well-known case of a
      mechanic who was found battered to death
      while being interrogated by police. And it
      wasn't until there was a public outcry that 11
      police officers were rounded up. Still, they
      were given nothing more than a rap on the
      wrist. 

      Then there were deaths of illegal
      immigrants in the Semenyih detention
      camp which is under police control. The
      government had grudgingly conceded that
      some 72 immigrants have died, many from
      malnutrition, lack of medical attention and
      allegedly torture. Yet, the person who
      exposed the deaths, women activist Irene
      Fernandez, was hauled into court for
      ''spreading false news''. The whistle-blower
      is penalised while the perpetrators walk
      free. 

      But Anwar, as pointed out by opposition
      leader Lim Kit Siang, is not some ''common
      criminal''. Even criminals do not deserve to
      be tortured. Indeed, the question on
      everybody's lips is: If a person who was
      once the second most powerful man in the
      country could be beaten black and blue,
      then who is safe? Apparently no one. 

      The police, it seems, have a score to settle
      with Anwar. A few days before his arrest,
      Anwar labelled the police tactics in
      intimidating him and his supporters as akin
      to Nazi Germany's Gestapo or Israel's
      Mossad. The police chief, Rahim Noor, was
      evidently furious. ''Call us pirates'', he
      thundered, ''but never call us Gestapo or
      Mossad.'' 

      Reactions to Anwar's harsh treatment by
      the authorities are coming in thick and fast
      from Western governments. But Mahathir
      has shown that he doesn't give two hoots
      about protests from the West. Criticism
      from Asean, however, would be another
      matter altogether. Yet there is a deafening
      silence in this region. 

      The persecution of Anwar is no doubt the
      latest test for the post-Suharto Asean, and
      it has been found badly wanting. Ironically,
      the recent debate on Asean's flexible
      engagement was inspired by Anwar, who
      believed that human rights abuses by
      member nations should not go uncriticised. 

      Moreover, Anwar counts many among his
      peers in Asean as his personal friends. Yet
      when he needs them most, they are
      nowhere to be seen, or heard. Take, for
      example, Thai Foreign Minister Surin
      Pitsuwan who said he had ''no comment''
      on the issue. For all the talk about good
      neighbourliness, Asean leaders are fighting
      shy to defend a friend who is facing the full
      brunt of the state apparatus. 

      Anwar's fate remains unclear. But it
      appeared he is coming out of Round 2
      looking good in spite of, no, because of, the
      black eye. Two of his associates who had
      earlier pleaded guilty to being sodomised
      by Anwar are now retracting their
      confession. Moreover, none of the five
      corruption charges against Anwar alleged
      that he had amassed wealth. Instead, they
      are mostly linked to the five ''unnatural'' sex
      charges, for instance, the accusations that
      Anwar pressed police to obtain
      confessions from people denying sodomy
      with him. These charges are nowhere near
      the gravity of those monumental allegations
      levelled against Anwar. 

      Since Anwar is held under the ISA, he will
      be in jail for the whole duration of his trial,
      which is likely to last for years. The
      immediate concern of his family and
      supporters will be his personal safety while
      in police custody. A doctor who was
      ordered by the court to examine Anwar's
      eye confirmed that he was attacked. 

      For Mahathir, however, his days are clearly
      numbered and it is beginning to show. Only
      a few weeks ago, he said there was no
      need to appoint a deputy. Now, under
      pressure from his party, he plans to do so.
      While there is no doubt that Mahathir still
      has an iron grip over Umno, his authority
      has surely been undermined by the show of
      force by Anwar's supporters. It would only
      take a few party heavyweights to break
      ranks and the facade of support for
      Mahathir would slowly crumble. But whether
      anyone could summon enough courage to
      oppose Mahathir in the foreseeable future
      is debatable. 

      Whatever the outcome of this battle
      between the two political titans, one thing is
      clear. Anwar has unwittingly helped set
      loose the democracy genie, and there will
      be no turning back. Whether Anwar is found
      guilty or not by the court is now
      inconsequential. The reformasi movement
      has obviously taken a life of its own.
      Protests, even without Anwar's leadership,
      or his wife's, Azizah Ismail, who is now
      under a police restriction order, will
      continue. 

      No wonder, Mahathir is increasingly a
      desperate man. In a speech on
      Wednesday, he lashed out at the media --
      presumably this included the local media as
      well -- for providing inaccurate information.
      He lamented news reports that some
      50,000 people had demonstrated at the
      Merdeka Square. ''There were only about
      5,000 people,'' he said. 

      Perhaps Mahathir, too, should have his
      eyes checked.