Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Political affray in Malaysia Taken to the cleaners
- Bersih rally provides lessons to Malaysian gov't
- Breezes of change in Malaysia
- Investing 101 Means Looking Out the Windows More: William Pesek
- Q&A: Malaysia’s Ambiga Sreenevasan
- Malaysian government runs scared
| Political affray in Malaysia Taken to the cleaners Posted: 14 Jul 2011 10:08 AM PDT By The Economist MALAYSIA is one of South-East Asia's stabler nations; but a rally in Kuala Lumpur on July 9th in demand of electoral reform turned surprisingly nasty, leading to the arrest of more than 1,600 people. The police fired tear gas and water cannon into the crowd, and one man died of a heart attack. All those arrested were released fairly quickly, but Amnesty International, a London-based human-rights group, called it "the worst campaign of repression in the country for years". The government's reaction showed a lot of nervousness about how much opposition it can tolerate. In fact the crackdown started a few weeks ago after "Bersih 2.0" announced that it was going to stage the rally. Bersih, also known as The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, is a loose alliance of NGOs and activists (bersih means "clean"). It argues that all candidates should be given access to the mainstream media and that indelible ink should be used to stop people voting more than once. It all sounds uncontroversial, but not to the government. Bersih was declared illegal on July 1st and about 200 activists were rounded up. The march itself was then banned, although the authorities offered Bersih a stadium to meet in—and then withdrew the offer. |
| Bersih rally provides lessons to Malaysian gov't Posted: 13 Jul 2011 01:32 PM PDT
By Jia Ning Tan, Xinhua News KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Last weekend's rally in Malaysia posed a question to the government: should it look into the electoral system or are there lessons to be learned? On Saturday, floods of activists of the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections or Bersih joined an illegal street demonstration in Kuala Lumpur, demanding for an electoral reform. The authorities put the figure of demonstrators at five to six- thousand people. The situation returned to normal at 6 p.m. on the day and a total of 1,667 demonstrators were arrested, including the organizers of the rally but were released by Sunday. Meanwhile, thousands of activists living abroad also gathered in about 30 different cities around the world demonstrating for the same cause, making the rally the largest one over the past four years. Prime Minister Najib Razak repeatedly denied any shortcomings in the country's electoral system in Malaysia. He noted earlier that if the government could manipulate electoral results, then the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional ( Malay for National Front) would not have lost five states in 2008 General Election, would not lose the two-thirds majority in parliament and PAS (the opposition) would not have been administering Kelantan for the past 21 years. "We even display the electoral list for voters to check," he added. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad echoed his view, condemning the rally as politically-motivated. "Its objective is to tarnish the government's name and the police, so that the opposition will win," Mahathir said earlier this month.
MOTIVATION BEHIND, LESSONS EMBEDDED Analysts also said the rally was more than just about electoral reform. "You have the non-governmental organizations wanting the electoral reform, that was the principle reason; but all kinds of other groups also flocked into the bandwagon partly because they see that as a platform for them to surface their issues," Ibrahim Suffian, a political analyst from opinion research firm Merdeka Center told Xinhua in an exclusive interview. "You see the opposition parties and their supporting the Bersih rally partly because they see this as a platform on which they can show strength and energize their leadership," he said. "They see this as a platform they can raise the issues that they were critical of the government in recent times, like corruption, slowness in implementing policies," he added. He said although the government was not likely to bow to their demands considering how near the general election looms, Bersih succeeded in placing pressure on the government, triggering awareness about electoral reform among the people and mobilize the Malaysians living abroad. "They have placed some form of pressure in the government, they were able to mobilize Malaysians outside of Malaysia and I think for people who care about this issue, they can see the difference of treatment for demonstrators in overseas," Ibrahim said. And he expects the rally to better prep the government in handling dissent, which was under scrutiny recently after the rally. Police were claimed by the demonstrators and activists to be using excessive force when making arrests and dispersing the crowd in the rally an accusation the government said it was investigating. "In Malaysia, there are groups of people who are equally patriotic, equally responsible but may not agree with certain policies," he said. "I noticed a large number of young people who were there for the first time. The key lesson here is how the government can engage this segment society, who are not necessarily anti- government but they have different views, they need to be engaged, " he added, suggesting that the government would in the end find a middle ground between the people's grievances and what it can deliver to portray itself positively. Although it would likely embolden the opposition for now, giving them a sense of power, Ibrahim said it also allows the government to widen its focus, from a series of people-friendly policies and transformation programs to core issues that concern the younger generation, like rights and democracy. "The government needs to be transparent, acknowledge the flaws in the system, they need to begin to talk to these people," he added. Bersih, a non-government organization, was advocating for a clean and fair election in the next general election, which is expected to start within this year. They have eight demands, which include introducing automatic voter registration, reforms to postal voting and the use of indelible ink. The organization held a similar rally with a crowd of an estimated between 10,000 to 40,000 people in 2007 that dealt a major blow to the ruling coalition, who lost five states to the opposition during the 2008 election.
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| Posted: 13 Jul 2011 01:14 PM PDT By Rachel Harvey, BBC SEA Correspondent, BBC News Malaysia's reputation as a peaceful, multi-ethnic role model was shaken last weekend when thousands of protesters took to the streets of the capital, Kuala Lumpur. The rally was organised by a collective of non-governmental organisations and activists calling itself Bersih - or the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections. The word "bersih" means "clean" in the Malay language. The group's stated aim is to push for reforms of Malaysia's electoral system, which it claims is skewed in favour of the governing coalition. In a determined effort to enforce a ban on the march, police locked down the centre of the city. Traffic was allowed - almost encouraged - to leave, but nothing was allowed back inside the cordon. The protesters pushed on regardless, gathering in front of the road blocks, determined to make their point. Police in full riot gear were waiting. Jets from water cannon flooded Kuala Lumpur streets. Clouds of tear gas billowed overhead - empty canisters were thrown back towards the police lines. Screaming headlines Protesters beat a retreat with baton-wielding police officers in pursuit. More than 1,000 people were arrested, though most were quickly released. A day later everything had returned to normal. Apart from the screaming headlines in the local newspapers, it would be impossible to tell anything untoward had happened. Standing on the spot where just 24 hours earlier he had been trying to direct the crowd, one of the protest leaders, Hairs Ibrahim, reflected on the way things had developed. "We promised things would be peaceful," he said. "But we felt there was a need to press the authorities to take these reforms seriously." Those reforms include a longer campaign period before polling day, equal access to the media for all parties, and accurate voter lists. "On polling day the dead get up to vote," he said. But the government says there is more to all this than meets the eye. Among the protesters' chants there were clearly recognisable opposition slogans, evidence, the government claims, of the reform movement's partisan agenda. In an office decorated with football trophies and photographs, Khairy Jamaluddin, leader of the youth wing of the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), the party which has dominated Malaysian politics since independence more than 50 years ago, acknowledged the electoral reforms were needed. But he said Bersih's approach was deliberately confrontational. "If you are talking about electoral reforms, then there's a way of doing it. That's to work with the elections commission to push for some of the points they have highlighted and not try to create a kind of us-and-them polemic," he said. Haris Ibrahim does not deny Bersih is a political organisation. But he strongly rejects the charge the reform movement is bent on removing the government from power. "We don't pretend to be otherwise. We don't apologise for being political. But we are non-partisan." The government may, in part, be nervous because of the results of the last election in 2008. It retained power, but it lost five states - its worst ever performance. That election was preceded by a protest march organised by an earlier incarnation of Bersih - the new movement has the full name of Bersih 2.0. Changing dynamic Part of the problem for the government is it can no longer control the message the way it once did. One striking phenomenon of last weekend's protest was the number of people using their smart phones to record and upload video and to get real-time information on where the police blocks were and how to avoid them. Malaysia now has 60% broadband penetration and there is free wi-fi in many parts of Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian Insider, an online news portal, has tapped into the growing demand for information. Its offices display clear influences from the new media ethos developed in the US. There are chalk boards on the walls with a mix of motivational messages, team objectives and a list of names who had signed up for an office bowling night. It is open-plan, informal, and hi-tech. Jahabar Sadiq, who is both editor and company boss, says he is convinced social media is changing the political dynamic in Malaysia. "Internet media is changing the way people think, giving them a wider choice between what the government says and what is actually going on," he said. And he made this striking prediction: "Someone within Facebook or Twitter will capture people's imagination, and he or she will take over leadership of this country, I think, within a decade." There are definitely stirrings of change in Malaysia. But this is not Egypt or Libya. Malaysia is not on the verge of a violent uprising. But there is a growing desire for a genuine and fair political choice and an increasing willingness to make that demand heard. |
| Investing 101 Means Looking Out the Windows More: William Pesek Posted: 12 Jul 2011 12:02 PM PDT (Bloomberg) What can we make of a leader who promised reform and moderation and now sounds like a Roman emperor? Can a nation that arrests almost 1,700 people, some just for wearing yellow shirts, still be called a democracy? Arab Spring, meet Malaysia's summer of discontent. That thought is surely on Prime Minister Najib Razak's mind as the dust settles from Saturday's botched demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur. By "botched" I mean the way Najib mishandled what should have been a ho-hum political-reform rally of little note by the international news media. Public-relations experts would have told Najib to let the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections have their day in the capital. Let them wave signs and wear their yellow shirts. Instead, he tried to stop the rally, increasing its size. Then, he cracked down. Police fired tear gas and detained 1,697 people, turning the event into a top cable TV news story. The over-the-top response did something worse: It enraged Malaysians who weren't all that interested in rallying before Saturday. It also underlined the rise in political risk sweeping Asia, something that investors would be wise to track. No serious observer expects an exact Asian rerun of the Arab Spring movement that saw uprisings topple leaders in Egypt and Tunisia and threaten regimes in Syria, Libya and Yemen. But then neither do serious people argue that Asia has done enough to enhance its democratic credentials during the past 10 years. Political ChangeMalaysia's protest was the biggest since 2007 -- roughly 20,000 people. It came amid rising calls for political change from Thailand to China. What these nations have in common is that the overhaul in domestic political systems lags behind economic and financial reforms. Take Thailand, where voters this month ejected the incumbent Democratic Party, which had used soldiers to disperse opposition protests in 2010, leading to more than 90 deaths. The party had promised to attack the corruption and undemocratic ways of the government run by Thaksin Shinawatra that solders ousted in 2006. Last week, fed up voters went full circle, making Thaksin's sister premier. Officials in China are pulling out all the stops to clamp down on political activists amid the so-called Jasmine Revolution. Nothing unnerves the Communist Party in Beijing more than the specter of social discontent. The winds of change are even sweeping Singapore; its ruling party in May won its narrowest election victory since independence in 1963. Common ThreadsAlthough the causes of such tension differ from country to country, there are a few common threads. One is the frustration of the have-nots as they watch the haves get richer. Another is rising global commodity prices, which make it harder for many to make ends meet. Finally, political modernization has been slower than critics hoped. Malaysia's case is especially complicated thanks to the inescapable issue of race. The conventional wisdom is that Saturday's protests will delay Najib's pledge to dismantle a 40- year preferential program that favors the Malay majority. The policy makes it harder for Chinese and Indian Malaysians to find good jobs, and its quotas scare away foreign investors. It holds Malaysia back in an increasingly competitive world. To me, Najib wasn't moving fast enough before Saturday. Foreign executives considering whether to build a factory in Malaysia want a clear schedule: By Jan. 1, 2012, we will do this, and by Jan. 1, 2013, we will do that. Instead, Najib offered vague intentions without meaningful or specific goals. Misplaced PrioritiesIt's no mystery why. All that matters to the United Malays National Political Organisation is clinging to its five-decade hold on power. Such misplaced priorities explain why Malaysia has been slow to streamline the economy and encourage the kind of entrepreneurialism that creates well-paid jobs. It's also why leaders are timid about scrapping productivity-killing policies that only benefit portions of the population. The question now is which way Najib turns. At this point, he may avoid calling an early election this year -- there's just too much risk for him. Which direction he takes in changing policy is an even bigger unknown. On July 10, the Guardian newspaper carried comments by Najib in which he cautioned protesters not to test his party's will. "We can conquer Kuala Lumpur," he said. What can we make of a leader who promised reform and moderation and now sounds like a Roman emperor? Can a nation that arrests almost 1,700 people, some just for wearing yellow shirts, still be called a democracy? Najib's response even had Malaysians feeling sorry for opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who was injured by flying tear gas canisters. Events in Kuala Lumpur remind us that geopolitical risks are on the rise in Asia. Yes, growth rates are healthy even as the U.S., Japan and Europe limp along. The establishment of democratic institutions has been far less robust, though, and entrenched leaders may pay a considerable price. Maybe not in the Hosni Mubarak-sense, but the potential for upheaval shouldn't be underestimated. There really is a bull market in the desire for political change. Investors looking for places to put their money tend to lock themselves in offices combing through statistics, bond spreads, stock valuations and central-bank policies. In Asia's case, more success might be had by looking out the window at the street demonstrations below. |
| Q&A: Malaysia’s Ambiga Sreenevasan Posted: 11 Jul 2011 09:38 PM PDT
The question now is whether Malaysia's opposition groups can capitalize on the momentum from Saturday's rally and force further changes in one of Southeast Asia's linchpin economies– or if voters will continue to stick with Mr. Najib and the ruling coalition that has dominated Malaysia since it gained independence from Britain several decades ago. By Celine Fernandez, The Wall Street Journal An estimated 20,000 protesters gathered in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday to call for reforms to Malaysia's electoral system. The surprisingly large turnout—and the government's tough response, with water cannons and tear gas—appears to have galvanized the country's opposition, which until recently had struggled to gain traction against a government led by Prime Minister Najib Razak. The protesters believe Malaysia's government must reform to reduce electoral fraud and create a level playing field for all parties, including the opposition. Government officials say rally organizers were trying to embarrass the government, garner sympathy for opposition politicians and threaten social order. The question now is whether Malaysia's opposition groups can capitalize on the momentum from Saturday's rally and force further changes in one of Southeast Asia's linchpin economies– or if voters will continue to stick with Mr. Najib and the ruling coalition that has dominated Malaysia since it gained independence from Britain several decades ago. The Wall Street Journal's Celine Fernandez recently spoke with Ambiga Sreenevasan, chairwoman of Bersih 2.0 (or the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections), a coalition of activists that organized Saturday's rally. A former president of the Malaysian Bar Council, she was the first Malaysian to receive the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award for championing human rights, the status of women and religious tolerance in Malaysia. Here are some edited excerpts from the interview: Q: Your organization has built up some momentum with Saturday's rally. What is the next move for Bersih? A: Our agenda for electoral reform still stands firm, but we have two priority items which we think should be resolved. The first, of course, is that we express terrible regret at the death of Baharuddin Ahmad (a man who died of a heart attack during the rally), and we are very concerned at the manner in which it occurred. One of our top priority items is to refer the issue of the excessive use of the police force upon the rally to Suhakam (the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia). And we are asking them for a full investigation. (Editor's note: Malaysian authorities have said they believe the man's death was from natural causes and not related to the rally. They have also defended the police's use of tear gas and water cannons, saying they were provoked into action and had to act to protect public order, and relied on minimal force to disperse crowds). The second priority item for us is the release of those held under the Emergency Ordinance (including a number of activists arrested in connection with the rally). We are very, very, very concerned about the reports we are getting, about the manner in which they have been treated. We call for their unconditional release. We are pushing for the setting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry consisting of experts acceptable to the people to look into comprehensive electoral reform before the 13th General Elections (Malaysia's next elections, which must be called by spring 2013), and we reiterate our call for this to the government. Q: Will you hold more rallies? A: I do not see it happening in the near future. Q: What are the most important reforms needed in Malaysia, and why? Is it just about electoral reforms, or are other changes needed? A: Immediately, we want a more level playing field for the 13th General Elections. But apart from that, in the last six weeks, I think Bersih has become more than just a movement for electoral reform. I think that there is a real yearning for a higher standard of democratic values. People are utterly, utterly shocked by the abuse of power displayed by the government. So it has also become about the integrity of our institutions and the manner of governance and the abuse of power. I think people were very moved by that, and that is why we got the numbers that we did. Q: What benefits would come from those reforms, and why are they needed in Malaysia? A: The benefits would be providing a more level playing field and we think it brings legitimacy to the government who wins. If you come in because of free and fair elections, it would be something that would be more acceptable to the people. Q: If Malaysia had truly free and fair elections, what do you think would happen? A: I really can't predict. I wouldn't want to even begin to predict, actually. All I can tell you is that we will get a government who truly reflects the will of the people. And that's all we want. Q: Why do you think the government cracked down so hard on Saturday? A: Really, I fail to completely understand that. But I think they acted because they have taken a position and they were not prepared to move from that position. And they wanted to teach us a lesson, not by reason, but by force. I had made this statement earlier: They thought might could win over right, but I am afraid might can never win over right. Right always ultimately wins. Q: The government says Bersih is really just a front for opposition parties and is trying to promote their interests ahead of any national election. They note that Anwar Ibrahim (Malaysia's most prominent opposition leader) played a conspicuous role at Saturday's rally. Is the government's criticism fair? A: Not at all fair, because we invited all political parties including Barisan Nasional (Malaysia's ruling coalition) to support us. How can you say the cause for free and fair elections is only for the opposition? It is for everybody. Pakatan Rakyat (Malaysia's main coalition of opposition parties) did support Bersih. What's wrong with that? Pakatan Rakyat members are also citizens of this country. Are they not entitled to support a movement for free and fair elections? Q: The government also says you're also trying to destabilize the country and undermine public order. Is that fair? A: Totally unfair. So far, I have refused to respond to personal allegations. My issue is please judge me by my conduct and the government by their conduct. And let the public draw their own conclusions. Q: Many people have said it took a lot of courage to organize Saturday's rally. Why are you doing this? What drove you to get involved and take such a leadership role in Bersih? Do you feel like you are putting yourself at any risk? A: A few NGOs approached me and asked me to lead a civil society movement for free and fair elections, which I was very willing to do because it was for a good cause. And I did not for one minute think there was anything controversial about this topic. We thought we won't even get the numbers – we were worried about how to publicize the event. We never expected the government to react the way it did. I certainly did not want any of this attention that I am getting. I don't know why the focus was on me. We have 14 steering committee members. I was not making decisions on my own. We had nongovernmental organization members who had their views as well. A government that comes across as such a great bully repulsed a lot of people. And I think that is why we had the numbers and the momentum that we did. Honestly, if they had allowed us to proceed and played it down, we would not have gotten those numbers. That's why you saw on that day, ordinary citizens, and these are not even members of political parties, from all walks of life, old, young, all races, all religions. Where have you ever seen that? And how does the government read it? They come back on Monday and attack Bersih again. Those are the people you are attacking. Those are the voters you are attacking. They are not reading the situation properly at all. But I still say there is time to salvage, to reconcile, and I hope the government will seek to do that. Q: Although there are obviously major differences between Malaysia and countries such as Egypt, Tunisia or Syria, any demonstration these days inevitably invite comparisons to the Arab Spring protests. Are there are any similarities here? A: No similarities, in my view. They were in a completely different situation. Here, all we are doing is asking for a free and fair election. It is the government's disproportionate response that created a momentum. But we are still a peace-loving nation. We still want the government to be fair. To me it was never our intention and it is still not our intention to bring down this government. We want to work with this government, to improve our electoral system. Q: How deep is the support for Bersih? A: When you look online, you will find it growing exponentially. I am amazed at how it has taken off. Bersih is not a word any more. It is an idea. It is a feeling. It is a passion, which is why you can never kill it. Q: There is a Facebook page with 100,000 people requesting Najib Razak's resignation. What do you think about that? A: We have nothing to do with that. It is never and has never been Bersih's intention for the prime minister to step down. As I said, we want to work with the prime minister and his government to have a better electoral system.
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| Malaysian government runs scared Posted: 11 Jul 2011 07:30 PM PDT  By Jonathan Manthorpe, Vancouver Sun Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak and his National Front government that has ruled the country for 54 years are exhibiting acute anxiety as new elections approach. A demonstration on Saturday in Kuala Lumpur by a coalition of opposition and civil society groups demanding electoral reform was dealt with by the authorities far more harshly than the situation appears to have warranted. The authorities' swift recourse to riot squads, volleys of tear gas, water cannon and the arrest of 1,600 people, is being widely seen as evidence of the National Front's fear it may be defeated in elections that must be held by 2013. At the same time, reports from Paris say French prosecutors are near the end of their investigation of allegedly corrupt payments of $200 million involved in the $2-billion sale to Malaysia of Scorpene submarines by French arms manufacturer DCNS in 2002. Najib was defence minister at the time and the $200 million was paid to a company controlled by some of his closest associates and advisers. There is also the question of whether the murder of Mongolian model and translator, Altantuya Sharriibuu, the mistress of Najib's chief negotiator on the submarine deal, is linked to the scandal. Two of Najib's bodyguards have been convicted of murdering Altantuya. Their appeal against their conviction and sentence that they be hanged is due to be heard shortly after a twoyear delay. With these storm clouds gathering it is understandable that Najib may be fretful as he contemplates his first election since taking over as prime minister in April 2009 and assuming the leadership of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the dominant party in the National Front governing coalition. Najib took over from Abdullah Badawi, who oversaw the ruling coalition, when in the 2008 elections it lost for the first time its two-thirds majority in parliament. Provincial elections also saw parties of the opposition People's Alliance win control of five of Malaysia's 13 states. Abdullah's lacklustre performance and departure followed a massive opposition rally in 2007 by a group called Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, which also organized Saturday's march in Kuala Lumpur. The group contends Malaysia's elections are far from free and fair because of inadequate voter registration lists, widespread fraud and gerrymandering of constituencies. It wants wholesale reform of the process, including guaranteed access to government-linked media for opposition parties. The Najib government's anxiety about this demonstration has been evident for several weeks. The human rights organization Amnesty International has described the response to the protest and the events leading up to it as "the worst campaign of repression we've seen in decades." Over the last two weeks police have detained more than 200 people nationwide for trying to promote the rally, which was banned by the authorities. Early last week, there was an unusual intervention by Malaysia's king, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, who got demonstration leaders to agree to hold their rally in Kuala Lumpur's Merdeka Stadium. The Najib government at first agreed to this compromise, but then changed its mind and reinforced the ban. Merdeka Stadium management said the facility was not available because it is still being renovated after a Justin Bieber concert in April. To reinforce the ban, police cordoned off the centre of Kuala Lumpur on Friday evening, sealed off roads, closed railways stations and deployed water cannon trucks in readiness. However, somehow thousands of people evaded these attempts to thwart them. Exactly how many people took part is unclear. The authorities say it was only 6,000 or so. The organizers say it was 50,000. Independent observers put the number at from 10,000 to 20,000. What is not in dispute is that they were given no leeway and were met with volleys of tear gas and chemicallaced water from the start. Among those injured was Anwar Ibrahim, leader of the opposition People's Alliance, who warned the Najib government will face an "hibiscus revolution" -the hibiscus is Malaysia's national flower -unless there is reform. Najib's state of mind is evident in his response. "Don't doubt our strength," he said. "If we want to create chaos, we can. UMNO [his party] has three million members. If we gather one million members, it is more than enough. We can conquer Kuala Lumpur."
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