BA Lunas

PP3739/12/2000 ISSN 0127 - 5127 / RM3.
00 / 2000:20(9)
Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 1

COVER STORY
A New Era Begins

The BA’s victory in Lunas is hugely significant in more ways than one
by Anil Netto
he Barisan Alternatif’s
T upset win at the bitterly
fought Lunas by-elec-
tion in Kedah, the home-
state of Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohamad, has galvanized the
reformasi movement and sparked
renewed discussion about the pre-
mier’s political future.
Unlike other by-elections, the by-

election in the forgotten sleepy
hamlet of Lunas, held after the in-
cumbent was murdered some
three weeks earlier, was crucial for
the ruling Barisan Nasional coa-
Samy Boleh: An entry into the Malaysia Book of Records?
lition.
The victory of the BA candidate is

to be welcomed not so much be-
cause it was an opposition victory.
It robbed the BN of its powerful
two-thirds majority in the Kedah
state assembly. The BA victory is
another step towards the goal of
achieving a viable and vigorous
parliamentary democracy where
two multiethnic coalitions have
equal chances of victory. This will
ensure greater checks and bal-
ances on the executive branch of
the government.
A the same time, many analysts Almost immediately, UMNO Su- leader, Dr Mahathir”. Watch out
are already predicting that Kedah preme Council member Shahrir for more rumblings of discontent
could be the third state to fall into Samad of Johor pinned the blame from within UMNO – especially
opposition hands after the east for the BN defeat squarely on Johor UMNO - over Mahathir’s
coast states of Kelantan and Mahathir. He was reported as leadership of the party. Indeed, the
Terengganu come the next general saying that the BN lost the seat Lunas verdict may have signalled
election due in 2004. because of “the character of our that the endgame for Mahathir

EDITOR'S NOTE
Lunas, Kesas and Kamunting

CONTENTS
Just a year ago, the BN claimed victory in the
November 1999 general elections. More than that, COVER STORY
due to the first-past-the-post electoral systtem prac- • A New Era Begins 2
tised in Malaysia, the BN succeeded in maintaining • Lies From The Mainstream Media 7
its two-thirds’majority in parliament; this, although • ... And Over TV3 8
it only polled 56.5% of the popular vote.
An objective analysis of the 1999 electoral re-
sults suggests that there existed much dissatisfac- FEATURES
tion among the people, especially in the Peninsula.
• A Branch Of The PM's Dept? 9
Apparently, the dissatisfaction has turned to frus-
• No Pay Hike For MPs 10
tration and even disgust with the BN.
• To Lead Or Be Led 16
In this issue, AM highlights three recent
• 40 Years Is Enough! 22
events which suggest this turn of events. In the cover
• Stop Barak! 24
story, ANIL NETTO discusses the BA’s victory in
• Only A Commission Of Inquiry 29
Lunas. He indicates that the Lunas voters chose jus-
tice and freedom over instant development projects. • Aliran's 24th AGM 30
He also debunks the BN’s claim that the BA’s vic- • Peaceful Gathering 34
tory was because it resorted to sensitive religious/ • Without Exaggeration 36
ethnic issues and dirty tactics. • Driving For Democracy 40
The back cover story “Driving for Democ-
racy” discusses the 50,000-strong demonstration in
the Kesas Highway. From the authority’s point of REGULARS
view, the demonstration was a breach of the rule of • Letters 1 2
law. For those who organised and participated in • Thinking Allowed 19
the event – which was very peaceful until the police • Current Concerns 26
intervened – however, they were protesting against
the increasing erosion of the rule of law, as the arti-
cle by DJ MUZAFFAR TATE argues. OTHERS
Finally AM reports the demonstration in • King Of Comedy 1 5
Kamunting to protest 40 years of the ISA. This issue • Subscription Form 18
also carries “No Pay Hike for MPs” issued by SOS !
after a people’s assembly was held in Penang.
ALIRAN is a Reform Movement dedicated to

Justice, Freedom & Solidarity and listed on the
roster of the Economic and Social Council of the
United Nations. Guided by universal spiritual
Published by
values, Aliran has been striving for genuine unity Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN)
by promoting social justice and human dignity since
1977. Membership is open to all Malaysians above 103, Medan Penaga, 11600 Jelutong,
21. If you are interested in joining Aliran, please Penang, Malaysia.
contact the Hon Secretary at the address shown in
this page. Tel : (04) 658 5251 Fax : (04) 658 5197
Homepage : http://www.malaysia.net/aliran
Printed by Angkatan Edaran Enterprise Sdn. Bhd. Lot 6, Jalan Tukang 16/4, Seksyen 16, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan.

ment’s action to those of commu- general election, held exactly a
nists in an Independence Day year before the Lunas by-election,
speech in August. UMNO Youth the support from the Chinese had
members later demonstrated in helped the ruling coalition over-
front of the Chinese associations’ come a deep split in UMNO fol-
office. lowing the controversial sacking
and jailing of former deputy prime
The premier again irked the eth- minister Anwar Ibrahim.
nic Chinese when he labelled
those who rejected the govern- If the shift in the Chinese votes
ment’s Vision schools concept as back to the opposition as seen in
and UMNO has begun. extremists. Under the scheme, the Lunas reflects a nationwide trend,
government aims to house schools then the BN could be in big trou-
The by-election saw the opposi- using different mediums of in- ble come the next general election.
tion, represented by a candidate struction in the same premises to But Mahathir and the Barisan
from keADILan (the National Jus- promote integration among the should not blame the Chinese
tice Party), over-turning a 4,700- various ethnic communities. alone for their defeat. The whole
vote deficit at last November’s nation has been seized by
general election to win by a slim But many Chinese Malaysians, rumblings of discontent from all
530-vote majority out of more than including Chinese educationists, ethnic groups. Near Taiping, ob-
20,000 votes cast. worry that this will undermine the servers were surprised when
character and identity of the Chi- some 2,000 Malaysians protested
It was the first time that the revised nese schools – simple things like against the Internal Security Act
electoral rolls were used with a whether non-halal food could outside the Kamunting Detention
chunk of new voters exercising continue to be sold in Vision Camp, where detainees under the
their democratic right for the first school canteens. All the assur- draconian Internal Security Act
time. ances from the BN apparently are held on the 13th anniversary
counted for little as voters refused of Operation Lalang at the end of
More than 600,000 voters were to believe them, perhaps because October (see page 22).
disenfranchised in the November of broken promises in the past.
1999 general election simply be- Then, on Nov 5, tens of thousands
cause the Election Commission To be sure, the best way to proof Malaysians converged near
could not or would not process mote national unity is to promote Shah Alam, the capital of central
new voters in time for those polls. ethnic integration in schools. But Selangor state, calling for
Many of these younger to convince Chinese and Tamil Mahathir’s resignation (see back
Malaysians are likely to have educationists about the impor- page). In the plantations, workers
voted for the opposition. tance of integration, there has to have protested about the lack of
be a huge element of trust and prior progress in trying to secure a fixed
A Rumbling Of consultation to dispel fears of cul- monthly wage. Across the South
Discontent Nationwide tural assimilation. This element China Sea, in Sarawak, indig-
was missing in the Vision schools enous communities are protesting
What spelt disaster for the BN in proposal and proved to be the against the loss of their Native
Lunas was the decisive swing BN’s downfall in Lunas with the Customary Land.
among the ethnic Chinese to- Chinese educationists expressing
wards the opposition, marking a strong reservations over the con- Indeed, Lunas was one of the rare
radical departure from the way cept. occasions where thousands of
they voted in November 1999. Malays and Chinese flocked in
In the end, the Suqiu controversy fairly equal numbers to the same
Mahathir peeved many Chinese and the Vision schools proposal opposition ceramahs. Lunas has
Malaysians especially when he played a key role in swaying eth- given the reformasi movement a
likened the demands of a group- nic Chinese votes Vision schools somewhat more multiethnic face
ing of Chinese associations move- towards the opposition. In the last that should augur well for the fu-

ture though much work needs to
be done to convince others.
Whether the Chinese will now
play a more active role in the move-
ment remains to be seen but cer-
tainly their displeasure against
the status quo has been loudly
expressed.
Apart from the issues involved,

the by-election was also widely
seen as a proxy battle between
Mahathir and Anwar, whose wife
Wan Azizah Wan Ismail heads
keADILan.
Political Maturity: The DAP's return proved to be a turning point
In the event, the results indicated tion pact as disintegrating. choice of candidates in future
that the ethnic Malays, who make polls.
up some 43 per cent of voters in But the DAP, which had stayed
the constituency, remain deeply away during the early part of the The fiasco over the choice of can-
divided, while the ethnic Chinese, campaign, returned a couple of didate is the sort of thing the BA
making up about a third, swung days before polling day in a dra- cannot afford. It alarmed
to the opposition. The ethnic In- matic about-turn, which proved to reformasi supporters of all politi-
dians, however, remained fairly be a turning point. Its decision to cal affiliations not just those from
solidly behind the ruling coalition campaign on behalf of the BA can- the DAP and keADILan. In the
though even among them there didate appears to have been made end, it appeared that disquiet on
appeared to be a smaller swing to in the larger interest of ensuring a the ground from those who
the opposition. victory for the BA and thus deny- wanted to see a united opposition
ing the two-thirds majority that forced the leaders to patch up.
Early Setback the BN had in the Kedah state as-
sembly. One would have thought that
The opposition suffered an early compromise and sacrifice would
setback after wrangling about This was a very mature decision be the watchwords of the BA in
which party should represent the made by the DAP leadership in the larger cause of seeking justice
front in the by-election. The dis- contrast to some of the earlier for all Malaysians. For most BA
pute threatened to break up the childish antics from some mem- supporters, the choice of candi-
coalition. In last November’s gen- bers of both the KeADILan and the dates matters little with one pro-
eral election, an ethnic Indian can- DAP. There can be little doubt that viso – many want the BA to evolve
didate from the Democratic Action the DAP’s campaign efforts into a truly multiethnic and
Party represented the BA but this played a significant role in pro- multireligious grouping that can
time the seat was given to a Malay viding the extra boost that enabled represent the best interests of all
from keADILan. the BA candidate to pip the BN to Malaysians. It is up to the BA lead-
victory. The cooperation shown ers to make this work and not
It was widely perceived as a slight by the four parties during the cam- undo the struggle of the last two
to the Indian Malaysian commu- paign augurs well for the future years for selfish partisan interests.
nity and fuelled discord among BA of the BA coalition. The BA will have to debunk the
partners and within the DAP, notion that only a Malay can best
which felt that it had been short- Now that the dust has settled, the represent a Malay-majority con-
changed. Not surprisingly, the BA will have to seriously discuss stituency, a Chinese in a Chinese-
mainstream gleefully latched on the criteria for the selection of its majority area, and an Indian in an
this issue for the duration of the candidates if it wants to avoid area where there is a higher per-
campaign to portray the opposi- similar bitter disputes over the centage of Indians. The BA ap-

pears also caught up in the whole sition has frequently complained pumped for infrastructure projects
post-NEP baggage of quotas and of phantom voters being used to in a frenzied last-minute attempt
ethnic representation. inflate votes for the ruling coali- by the ruling coalition to win
tion, but this was probably the votes. Never has there been so
Malaysians are now looking for first time that alert supporters had many roads resurfaced in so short
something different. They appear intercepted suspicious buses a time in a single Malaysian town
to be ready to elect candidates, coming into a by-election area. - surely another entry to the Ma-
based on their credibility, integrity laysia Book of Records.
and character, who can best rep- In the absence of official election
resent all communities irrespec- observers, the people took the ini- But what is amazing is that the
tive of ethnic origin. It is time for tiative to observe and organise for Lunas residents did not buy the
new strategies and ideas such as themselves. This may be seen as attempts to win their favour
keADILan fielding more Chinese the stirrings of a people-powered with unprecedented material
and Indian candidates in more civil society. Indeed, the whole development in the town. They
areas and the DAP trying to field Lunas campaign was largely an retained their dignity and their
more Malay candidates. Ulti- effort by ordinary people and vol- pride and basically told the BN
mately what is important is for the unteers who have been deeply that principles, justice, human
victors to show that they can rep- disturbed by recent trends in the rights and conscience matter
resent everyone irrespective of eth- country. more than money and material
nic origin. That is why it is so im- development. On this basis
portant now for Saifuddin to Victory was especially crucial for alone, the Lunas verdict will go
show that he can represent all keADILan, seeking to step out of down in history as a turning
communities fairly in the pursuit the shadow of the country’s larg- point in the struggle for more
of justice. est opposition party, PAS (the Is- principled politics.
lamic Party). KeADILan’s win will
The BA coalition also needs to also strengthen the multi-ethnic The roads may now be smoother
address the perceived slight to the face of the opposition front, until in Lunas, but the ride ahead for
Indian community. While it is not now seen in some circles as domi- Mahathir looks decidedly bumpy
necessarily true that only Indian nated by PAS with its Islamic and questions are already being
Malaysian elected representatives agenda. Very likely, it will make raised about how long he can sur-
can look after the interests of the more ethnic Chinese less hesitant vive after Lunas. The Lunas de-
Indian community, it is symboli- about voting for the opposition. feat comes soon after a proposal
cally important to have multi-eth- by the UMNO leadership to ex-
nic representation in state assem- The Battles Ahead tend the tenure of office-bearers to
blies and Partliament. This is to five years was rejected by the party.
ensure that no minority group The next battle after Lunas will be To be sure, Mahathir’s stature has
feels marginalised in the decision- the Sarawak state election, which taken a battering with the by-elec-
making process. is expected to be held within the tion defeat and it remains to be
next six months, a perhaps a cou- seen how much of a liability
Lunas will also be remembered for ple of other by-elections. In UMNO will now consider him to
a bizarre incident: the intercep- Sarawak, the opposition faces an be.
tion of more than a dozen buses uphill task against the well-oiled
on polling day ferrying what the ruling coalition machinery. But Anwar, recently hospitalized with
opposition called “phantom vot- the win at Lunas has boosted the a slipped disc, continues to loom
ers” from outside the constituency. opposition’s hopes of putting up large over the political landscape
The BN, on the other hand, coun- a stronger showing. while reformasi just refuses to
tered that the passengers were fade away.
ruling coalition supporters. It is likely that the BA will have to
Amidst tense scenes, the police fi- contend with the same brand of Suddenly, the stakes have edged
nally escorted the buses out of the “politics of development” that up a couple of notches and the
constituency after both sides had was displayed in Lunas, where battle-lines for the endgame have
lodged police reports. The oppo- some 30 million ringgit was been drawn once again. q

MEDIA
Lies from the Mainstream Media

Bernama Misinforms Again
by Lim Kit Siang
was told that I appeared ternative leader would be going would be introducing the opposi-
I on television and radio
yesterday announcing
against the Barisan Alternative
Leaders Council decision that the
tion candidate at Lunas tonight
are false and untrue but they have
that the Alternative Front official announcement of the succeeded in creating a crisis in
candidate for the Lunas by-elec- Barisan Alternative candidate for the Barisan Alternative.
tion will be from the DAP. Lunas would only be made to-
day or tomorrow. I will be lodging an official com-
This report was also carried in the plaint to the Bernama Board of
local press today, with The Star for I have checked and found that Directors under the Bernama Act
instance, in its report under the Bernama was the source of these against the most unethical, im-
heading “DAP gets to contest Lunas fictitious reports. moral and unprofessional jour-
seat”, stating: “Lim (Kit Siang), nalism in this case, for which the
when met by reporters in Lunas It had filed the following report Bernama reporter concerned as
yesterday evening after visiting yesterday (below) well as the Bernama Chairman
the DAP operations room, said: It and Managing Director should
has been confirmed that a DAP can- All these reports about my visit- bear full responsibility.
didate will contest against the Barisan ing Lunas yesterday and an-
Nasional.” nouncing that the BA candidate Bernama has brought disgrace to
would be from the DAP and that I Malaysian journalism for de-
This is a totally fictitious report
about my phantom visit to Lunas
and my phantom comments. DAP MAN WILL REPRESENT OPPOSITION FRONT IN
LUNAS - KIT SIANG
I had never made any confirma-
tion with any reporter that the KULIM, Nov 18 (Bernama) — The Alternative Front candi-
Barisan Alternative candidate for date for the Lunas by-election will be from the DAP, the par-
the Lunas candidate is from the ty’s chairman Lim Kit Siang announced on Saturday.
DAP. In fact, I did not visit Lunas
yesterday and have yet to visit It has been confirmed that a DAP candidate will contest
Lunas, which I plan to do tonight. against the Barisan Nasional,” he told reporters after visit-
I was in Petaling Jaya yesterday ing the DAP operations room in Taman Sang Kancil near
and in Teluk Intan last night for a here.
DAP function, returning to
Petaling Jaya in the early hours of Lim declined to name the candidate but a party source said
the morning. This morning I flew Penang state committee member S.Neelamekan, who lives in
from the KLIA to Penang. Lunas, would be fielded.
These false reports have however Lim said he would introduce the opposition candidate to
created storms in the Barisan Al-
voters at the party operations room at 8pm tomorrow.”
ternative as any comment or con-
firmation by me or any Barisan Al-

... And Over TV3
n the evening of 21 No- parties concerned. In other words, party, MIC.
O vember 2000, TV3, the
television station owned
according to TV3, more members
have left the opposition parties The truth is, less than 10 Indians
by UMNO, the dominant than the opposition has members. left keADILan to rejoin MIC, and
partner in Malaysia’s ruling coa- this happened some time ago, not
lition, aired false reports espe- I suppose a high score in arithme- recently as the impression given
cially targeted for the Lunas by- tic is not a main criterion for em- by TV3.
election. ployment into TV3. Is that why
TV3 showed shots of three old la- This small handful of Indians ac-
One report was about 400 Na- dies walking along the Kesas tually left MIC earlier over a dis-
tional Justice Party (keADILan) Highway on 5 November 2000 pute with its party President. They
members leaving the party. and reported that no one turned wanted something, which the
out when other newspapers President would not agree to, so
Every election and by-election TV3 showed photos of 50,000 to they left the MIC and walked over
announces thousands of mem- 100,000 people? to keADILan. This move was
bers “leaving” the opposition par- aimed at pressuring the MIC
ties. If one was to total up the Anyway, back to the 400 members President.
number of members that have left leaving keADILan. This report, of
the opposition parties over the course, referred to the incident in Raja Petra Kamarudin
last year alone, as reported by Merbok, not far from Lunas, where
TV3, one would find that the fig- some Indian members left Source: FAC News,
ure exceeds the membership of the keADILan to rejoin their original 22 November 2000
Continued from page 7 Barisan Alternative crisis. I do not wish to divulge what
transpired at the Barisan Alter-
scending to the lowest depths of The various one-sided and untrue native leaders' council meetings
unethical, immoral and irrespon- accounts of the meetings of which could only destroy the
sible journalism by a total concoc- Barisan Alternative leaders’ coun- Barisan Alternative but only to
tion of a news story and comments cil is also most unfortunate, de- state that the many versions
by a political leader. stroying the confidentiality of which are now being reported
meetings and deliberations of the are untrue and total figments of
It would be most unfortunate if the Barisan Alternative leaders’ coun- the imagination - as for instance,
Lunas by-election results in a cil. that the DAP had threatened at
major Barisan Alternative crisis. the Barisan Alternative leaders'
For instance, it is totally untrue meetings that it would break
I do not want to comment on the that DAP representatives said that from the Barisan Alternative if a
resignation of the Keadilan as both a DAP or Keadilan candi- DAP candidate was not se-
Nasional vice president Tian date in Lunas by-election had no lected.
Chua on the issue of the Barisan chance of winning, the seat
Alternative candidate for the should be contested by DAP. DAP, I hope good sense would prevail
Lunas by-election, but his state- and I believe any other BA party, and that the Lunas by-election
ment attacking me for giving would contest the Lunas by-elec- would not lead to a Barisan Alter-
greater priority to party interest tion to win, and although the by- native crisis. q
than to the people’s interest is not election would be an uphill bat-
only unfair and untrue, but a most tle, victory would not be impossi- (Speech by Lim Kit Siang at the
unwarranted and unhealthy prac- ble as borne out by the Teluk Intan Penang DAP State Convention on 19
tice which can only aggravate a by-election in May 1997. November 2000)

DEMOCRACY
A Branch Of The PM's Dept?

Parliament Hits a New Low
by Kim Quek
rime Minister jecting them to his personal TV we have to understand the
P Mahathir Mohamad
recently made the
surveillance, MPs from the rul-
ing party acted in the exact
connotations associated with
TV surveillance. When the
shocking revelation opposite. They shouted down head of a department moni-
that he had put Parliament un- the opposition MP who chal- tors the goings-on in his gen-
der TV surveillance wired di- lenged the Prime Minister’s eral office through his TV, it
rectly to his office, when he right to put Parliament under implies he is superior to the
warned his MPs not to play tru- such surveillance, and the people he is monitoring on.
ant in Parliament. Malaysian Speaker even went to the ri- Hence, the first connotation
Parliament is famous for the diculous extreme of prohibit- is that the surveilant is supe-
frequent stoppages to its ses- ing the Opposition MP from rior to his objects.
sions due to lack of quorum, speaking further.
as MPs from the ruling party, Now, it may be acceptable for
who occupy three quarter of The most shocking and reveal- the head of a department to
the seats in the House, are not ing part comes from the do so over his general em-
in the habit of attending Par- Speaker, who defended the ployees (though many would
liament. Prime Minister’s action as not resent it). However, it is not
something extraordinary, and acceptable for the CEO of a
Slavish MPs said: Some parliaments in other company to monitor the
countries EVEN directed the tel- meetings of the directors
The nonsensical drama that un- ecast to the public. (Note the op- through his TV (in case some
folded in Parliament following erative word EVEN.) one else is chairing the meet-
protest from Opposition MPs ing). Why? This is because
of this TV surveillance marks The Speaker’s logic seems puz- such monitoring is consid-
the shocking ignorance of the zling on first appearance. ered below the dignity of the
fundamental concept of parlia- However, upon further delib- directors. Hence, the second
mentary democracy and the eration, it is clear what the connotation is that only low
slavish mentality of parliamen- Speaker meant was that, since ranking personnel accept TV
tarians from the ruling party the people of a country are al- surveillance.
(in particular the Speaker), who ready entitled to watch the
are obvious victims of two dec- proceedings of parliament With these connotations, the
ades of dictatorial rule by through television, the prime Prime Minister has in effect
Prime Minister Mahathir minister should of course be reduced the status of Parlia-
Mohamad. EVEN MORE entitled to moni- ment to that of a branch in
tor parliamentary sessions his Prime Minister’s Depart-
Instead of jumping up in pro- through his TV. ment. Adding salt to injury,
test in unison with Opposition he has done so without the
MPs at this latest insult from The PM Or The People knowledge of Parliament.
the Prime Minister who had - Who’s The Boss That he did not think it nec-
obviously treated them like a essary to inform Parliament
bunch of school kids by sub- Before we proceed further, in advance confirms his utter

No Pay Hike
contempt for that Institution:
a mere rubber stamp to his
will.
Back to the Speaker’s logic.

When he said the Prime Min-
For MPs
ister was more (or even
equally) entitled to what the The People’s Views Must Be Considered
people are entitled to when
it comes to the right to watch help the country. But we find
parliamentary sessions in
camera, he was committing
W eoppose
the citizens strongly
the 10% pay the explanations given for the
hike for the MPs due pay hike - for example, the
the cardinal sin in a democ-
to its very bad timing - specifi- need to contribute to constitu-
racy. He has demeaned the
status of the people, and he
cally we refer to the fact that ency development - unconvinc-
has also implied that the the nation’s economy has not ing. In fact there is already al-
Prime Minister is above the recovered fully. MPs are location provided for this par-
people. In a democracy, the elected representatives of the ticular purpose to all Govern-
PEOPLE are supreme. Parlia- people and are expected to ment MPs. The MPs are not ex-
ment is the supreme institu- share the good as well as the pected to pay for such expenses
tion in a democracy only be- bad times with the people. A from their salaries. Only Op-
cause it represents the will of pay hike given now, during a position MPs are not given
the PEOPLE. bad time for the people, will such a facility.
send a wrong message to the
Parliamentary sessions are
telecast to the people in some MPs - that they have done Next, there is also the compari-
countries, because those gov- enough to tackle the problems son made with a neighbouring
ernments recognise the peo- at hand! country where the MPs re-
ple as the supreme masters, ceived a 13% pay hike recently.
and respect their rights to There are many pressing prob- This argument has not taken
know how their representa- lems faced by the people: from into consideration that the MPs
tives are doing in the House. stalled housing projects, loss of in the neighbouring country
The same privilege cannot be homes following the rental had earned their pay hike by
extended to any individual decontrol, increased prices for successfully managing the fi-
when the purpose is for sur-
petrol, road tolls, bus fares, nancial crisis. The situation is
veillance, certainly not even
the Prime Minister. parking fees, milk powder, not the same in Malaysia ! We
chicken etc! When the people need to compare work per-
Considering the fact that are asked to tighten their belts formance as well as pay!
the Speaker has presided and to sacrifice for the coun-
over the House for more try, it would be blatantly un- There are a number good rea-
than a decade, his low men- fair to make an exception for sons for maintaining the cur-
tality and his shameful con- the MPs! If there was to be any, rent pay scale. In fact, there are
duct only reveals the de- it should benefit the workers even reasons to suggest a pay
graded state of existence of who earn low wages, first and cut!
our Parliament. Equally con-
foremost.
te mpt i bl e a re t he d i s g r ac e-
ful behaviours of the MPs It has been reported that the
from the ruling party, who We the citizens do appreciate country’s EPF funds viz. the
reacted to such affront on the hard work performed by hard earned savings of the
their dignity with such the MPs in creating and amend- Malaysian working class, have
shamelessness. q ing legislations some of which been used for rescuing the

many Government or party the need to hike their salary! breeding in his department
related companies after the On the other hand if the over the last 20 years! Another
1997 financial crisis. Somehow Budget results in another such MP is the Defence Minis-
the Government has not seen round of inflation of prices, ter who should also be disci-
it fit to use the same source of then, the placating of the MPs plined after he failed to take
funds to rescue stalled housing through use of public funds is precautions against a second
projects which have affected tantamount to buying over the abduction of people from
tens of thousands of poor critics! This is scandalous ! ThisSipadan island in Sabah! A
house buyers. Failing that, the is corruption! large quantity of arms was also
Government should perhaps spirited away from the Sauk
allow for a second withdrawal For a long while now MPs and army post by a few bogus army
from the EPF so that those af- state assembly persons are personnel! Next we have the
fected by stalled housing known to bother themselves Works Minister who can only
projects can still acquire their with matters (e.g. clogged blame God whenever there is
homes with funds from a sec- drains, uncollected garbage, a landslide along the badly
ond source. unrepaired roads, hawker li- built highways!
censes, traffic jams etc.) which
It must be remembered that rightly should be handled by If we consider the less than
the EPF funds belong to the city councillors. This extra bur- satisfactory performance of
contributors and must be used den for the MPs is partly due the MPs, we find it difficult to
for their best interests! Rather to the inefficiencies of the city approve a new pay hike. Since
that the EPF funds be used in councillors who, significantly, we the citizens are the ones
this manner than to use the are not elected but appointed who elected them, our satisfac-
funds to prop up failed busi- from above. The MPs are the tion should be taken into con-
nesses, which, in fact amounts ones at fault here, because they sideration. An independent
to robbing the poor to help the can, if they care to do so, wage tribunal should be set up
rich - a mockery of the entire amend the laws of the country to consider the MPs' request
concept of the EPF as a self-help so that the country’s govern- for a pay hike. The people’s
mechanism to benefit the ance can be improved. Amend- views can then be heard.
working class! The Govern- ing the law to bring back Leaving the decision to the
ment should not be rewarded elected local government and MPs themselves gives rise to a
for abusing the EPF funds! city councils is one obvious way conflict of interests!
to improve the performance of
The MPs may have demanded the local authorities. The Gov- In conclusion we the citizens
the pay hike in anticipation of ernment should not request a strongly disapprove the 10%
higher costs of living arising pay rise as long as municipal pay hike proposed for the MPs
from the new Budget. This jobs are not well done! and urge all citizens to speak
would be most selfish of them. out against the measure!
In fairness, the Budget should Next we find the performance
take into consideration the of a number of MPs to be lack- SOS! (Save Ourselves)
heavy financial burden already ing in competence and there- 24 October 2000
borne by ordinary citizens and fore deserving of a pay cut in-
prevent further hikes in daily stead. Prominent in this cat- This statement was issued
needs e.g. petrol, milk powder, egory of MPs is the Transport following a ‘people's assem-
rental etc. In this way the MPs Minister who did not know bly’ held in Noordin Street
can also be sheltered from in- about the “flying licences” al- in downtown Penang.
flation thus doing away with though the problem had been

them wondering, but not sur-
prised, how after 43 years of
Merdeka, the nation is not really
united and people are still divided
along religious and racial fault-
lines.
For this, the politicians are to be

blamed. The sooner they realise
that using religious or racial is-
sues for their political ends is det-
rimental to national unity, the
sooner Malaysia can go on to be-
ing Malaysia Boleh. Otherwise it
may be forever Malaysia Rojak or
Malaysia Rosak.
Untuk Negara
Letters should be no more than 250 words and must include Petaling Jaya
the writer's name and address. Pseudonyms may be used. Send
letters to : Editor, ALIRAN MONTHLY, 103, Medan Penaga, Remand Of Juveniles
11600 Penang, Malaysia or e-mail to : aliran_letters@hotmail.com.
Views expressed need not reflect those of Aliran. The Malaysian Bar is concerned
with the problem of juveniles be-
Bangsa Malaysia – tween Bumiputera and non- ing held in remand at the Sg Buloh
Myth Or Reality Bumiputera can be a thing of the prison.
past. Or is Bangsa Malaysia just a
myth – created to gain political Of even more serious concern is
support and nothing more than the practice of holding juveniles
that? We hope UMNO leaders can in police lockups pending inves-
answer this question unambigu- tigation.
ously.
The Malaysian Bar through the
Concerned Kuala Lumpur Legal Aid Centre
Via e-mail (LAC) had initiated the Sg Buloh
Prison Project in 1997 to provide
Blame The Politicians legal assistance and representa-
Looking at some recent Malay tion for remand persons held
(more precisely, UMNO’s) reac- The front page of The Star (18 Au- there. In early 1999, the Sg Buloh
tions to David Chua’s statement gust) showed a Boy Scout waving prison authorities alerted the LAC
and Suqiu’s appeals, we must the national flag at the launch of to the problems relating to juve-
wonder if Malaysia is still one of the Merdeka month celebration. It niles held in remand at the prison.
the world’s most harmonious also carried the headline: ‘Gov- The LAC proceeded immediately
places to live in. Instead of con- ernment to defend special rights to liaise with the relevant authori-
centrating on the issue of Malay of the Malays, says Mahathir’. ties, including the courts, to clear
special rights, why don’t we con- Isn’t that ironic when Merdeka cel- the backlog of cases, expedite hear-
centrate on Bangsa Malaysia? If ebrations are to encourage the ings, and dispose of these cases.
Bangsa Malaysia consists of all rakyat to rally around the nation
races born and bred in Malaysia, in a spirit of unity? Anyone who The LAC conducted interviews
there should be no more division uses religion or race as a means to with the juveniles involved and
between the rights of Malay, Chi- a political end has the same effect in many cases managed to con-
nese or Indian races. The split be- on other Malaysians. It leaves tact family members and assisted

in making application for bail to shall propose amendments to rel- had occurred in the Western de-
be posted. evant statutes and propose review mocracies, the Transport Minister
of prosecution procedure, and would have been sacked.
In June 2000, the LAC was again bail application principles involv-
notified by the prison authorities ing juveniles. The Malaysian public do not ex-
of the increasing number of juve- pect Datuk Ling Liong Sik to be
niles being held in remand at Sg The Task Force intends to forward sacked. However, he must accept
Buloh. the recommendations and pro- the principle of ministerial re-
posals to the government in due sponsibility in a democratic sys-
The LAC, with the cooperation of course. tem and offer to resign.
the courts is again proceeding to
clear this backlog. The Malaysian Bar is wholly sup- In fact, the number of disasters
portive of Dato Dr Rais Yatim’s which have happened in depart-
The Malaysian Bar is concerned concern and interest in this mat- ments under the Transport Min-
that although such ad hoc meas- ter and we shall at all times fully istry since he became the transport
ures are effective, they will not re- cooperate with and support the minister 14 years ago have been
solve the problem and the solu- courts and Attorney-General’s more than sufficient for him to be
tion we should work towards is Chambers in their efforts to resolve sacked. The Prime Minister Datuk
to ensure that juveniles are not this problem. Mahathir himself, when com-
subjected to remand in prison or menting on the security breaches
police lockups. No matter how se- Hj Sulaiman Abdullah at airports, had said a few years
rious the offence is, the overrid- President ago that "one day the aeroplane
ing consideration should always Bar Council Malaysia may even go missing!"
be the welfare of the juvenile and
under no circumstances should Malaysians then roared that it was
the juvenile be subjected to condi- Ling Should Resign better for the Minister, rather than
tions which would surely have the aeroplanes to go missing. The
adverse effects in the long term. time has come for the public to de-
mand that they want a new Trans-
The move to come up with long port Minister and not a new driv-
term measures requires a compre- ing licence.
hensive study of the juvenile prob-
lems within the criminal justice The culture of “forever losing face
system requiring the initiative but not losing office” must not be
and cooperation of all parties in- allowed to continue and Ling
volved, including the Social Wel- himself must bow to the demo-
fare department and the division cratic principle and resign. If he
in the Prime Minister’s depart- chooses to ignore the public calls
ment dealing with legal affairs. for him to resign, I will move a
motion to cut RM10 of his salary
The Attorney-General’s Cham- The Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan in the coming Parliament meet-
bers should also be involved and (JPJ)'s driving licence scandal is ings to express the public loss of
guidelines issued, if any, in re- undoubtedly the biggest scandal confidence in him as the Trans-
spect of prosecution involving ju- in the Transport Ministry in terms port Minister.
veniles should be reviewed or im- of people (100,000 drivers), time
plemented. (5 years) and amount involved Kerk Kim Hock
(RM40 million). It is one scandal Secretary-General DAP
The Malaysian Bar acting through which has further tarnished the
the Kuala Lumpur LAC has set up image of JPJ and the Transport Royal Commission Of
a Juvenile Task Force to look into Ministry. Inquiry Needed
various related problems of juve-
niles in remand and in due course If a scandal of such magnitude There has been much discussion

lately on the high number of Inquiry is urgently required. times the MIC claimed to have
crimes committed by Indian submitted the results of numerous
Malaysians in the country. I refer N. Rajen Diran studies on Tamil schools woes to
to Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu’s state- Asst. Secretary the Cabinet.
ment that the time has come to set DAP National Publicity Bureau
up a unit or department to ensure Almost half of the 200,000 Indian
that all programmes approved by No Reason Why Malaysian primary school chil-
the Cabinet Committee on Social Tamil Schools dren attend Tamil schools. The
Ills are put on a fast track for im- Cannot Do Well Minister should seriously work on
plementation. improving the lives of a significant
I refer to Education Minister Tan segment of our future generation.
Therefore, is it not timely to heed Sri Musa Mohamad’s statement A patronising and condescending
DAP Chairman Lim Kit Siang’s that ‘The Chinese schools have attitude will not do.
call for a Royal Commission of done very well and I see no rea-
Inquiry to examine all socio-eco- son why Tamil schools cannot fol- N Rajen Diran
nomic reasons that have caused low what the Chinese schools are Asst Secretary
Indian Malaysians to be left be- doing.’ This statement, made in DAP National Publicity Bureau
hind in the mainstream of devel- response to the National Union of
opment, resulting in many of them Tamil School Teachers’ call for all An Open Letter To
feeling like third class citizens Tamil schools to be fully aided, is Dr Rais Yatim
according to a recent isue of Time ignorant at best and insensitive at
magazine. worst.
I fully agree with the Malaysian Statements like this from a Minis-
Hindu Youth Council deputy ter, more so a former academician,
president, P. Rajendran, that In- reflect his inadequate knowledge
dian youths are lagging behind of the subject at hand.
others because of poverty, rural-
urban migration and the lack of Chinese schools have the backing
contribution from Indian leaders. of an economically very strong
community which is able to foot
However, in my opinion, the sin- the balance of any shortfall in gov-
gle most important cause of this ernment funding. Moreover their
predicament is the government’s traditional strength in the teach- In Australia, in early June, you
inaction in resolving issues con- ing of science and mathematics is boldly questioned the propriety of
fronting the Indian community. As well established. Chief Justice Eusoff Chin’s con-
a disadvantaged minority, this duct related to controversial re-
section of our society needs the In comparison, most of the 360 ports of his holidays in New Zea-
government’s concern, attention partially aided Tamil schools are land. Many Malaysians were
and thorough proactive ap- ill equipped in terms of facilities, proud of you for making your
proach. including basic furniture. While statement because you were the
other factors contribute to the dis- only Cabinet minister who dared
A disproportionately high crime mal performance of Tamil schools, to do so.
rate is just a symptom of deeper it must be pointed out that proper
malaise. Study after study, allud- infrastructure plays a huge role in What you told another audience
ing to the influence of Tamil mov- the educational motivation and in Cambridge University more re-
ies and constant belly-aching will stimulation of the child. cently was an unpardonable con-
not do. trast. You projected Dr Mahathir
Tan Sri Musa says that if the Un- Mohamad as a great hero and of-
This is a national problem that ion is serious, it should send the fered excuses for the terrible things
requires a Malaysian solution. Ministry a memorandum. We that have happened in our coun-
Therefore, a Royal Commission of have lost count of the number of try under his leadership.

You praised Dr Mahathir as a the height of arrogance for you to that only countries such as Aus-
man ‘who dares to call a spade a say that ‘no apology needs to be tralia and USA were critical of
spade, who says things as they are offered for the operation and out- Malaysia? Scores of other coun-
and as they ought to be’. What come of the Malaysian democratic tries and foreign presses have ridi-
‘spade’ are you talking about, Dr and legal system despite hard culed our system of democracy
Rais? In London, New York and and high-handed criticism from and the judiciary. Besides, you
Japan, and at UMNO assemblies, afar’. can’t be unaware that Malaysians
and press conferences, Dr themselves are bitterly critical of
Mahathir persistently claimed to Dr Rais, you have a doctorate in what happened to our ‘demo-
have proof of Anwar Ibrahim’s law from the University of Lon- cratic and legal system’.
sexual misconduct. But Dr don. Remind yourself of what you
Mahathir refused to give evidence said about our democratic and le- Tell us what kind of democracy
in a court of law. This is not call- gal system in your doctoral the- we live under: Ayub Khan’s
ing a spade a spade. sis, now published as Freedom Un- ‘guided democracy’, Yahya
der Executive Power in Malaysia. Khan’s ‘controlled democracy’, or
You said, too, that ‘no one coun- Then tell us how you would rec- Dr Mahathir’s ‘Malaysian democ-
try can pass the test of perfection’. oncile what you said in Cam- racy’. Don’t stop short of calling
That is correct. But it doesn’t mean bridge with what you wrote in a spade a spade.
that extreme imperfection, base- your book.
less slander and merciless venge- K George
ance should be hushed up. It is Why did you tell your audience Klang
King Of Comedy?
Once again the Attorney General The allegations are but “surat
prefers to act the fool. layang”, AG rules and remarks
Before the whole nation and over Was the de facto Law Minister’s
our very eyes, he pulls the wool. opinion a wild loud empty bark?
When the Bowman Papers did the “Improper behaviour” — Rais

Chief Justice’s coffin nail had taken the bull by the horns
The AG’s Chambers comes up But the AG prefers to bull, and
with a silly and pathetic tale. makes “No evidence” a norm.
The last time when the AG, a The holiday itinerary of the judge
“Black eye” culprit could not find and lawyer was laid out so clear
A Commission of Inquiry showed Alas, only the AG’s Chamber can
the AG had chosen to be blind! ignore and make it “disappear”.
Surely a picture paints but a The CJ would rule in favour of the

thousand words so they say client of his holiday friend —
The world has seen the Chief whom, together with the lawyer,
Justice on an “improper” holiday. AG had shared a trip so grand!
But ten thousand words or even When people in high places

more, may not be loud and clear absolve each other of their sins
For the nation’s Number One law The doubt they leave behind
officer who chooses not to hear. is enough to do one another in!
by Martin Jalleh

POLITICS
To Lead Or Be Led?
by B.L. Chen
Subdued Expose Malay – and I wondered how
The settings could not have they felt about the delivery.
been more different. I had looked forward to Haji Nonetheless, it was obvious
Hadi’s talk, drawn by his repu- from the response of those
On the first occasion, it was tation as a fiery speaker. But around me that the speech
a dimly lit open space and what ensued was a very meas- went down well. It was at
when I stepped in, it was with ured and subdued expose of “question time” that I felt
a sense of wonderment at see-
the Terengganu oil royalty is- vexed. The representatives of
ing so many people seated
quietly on the grass, listening
sue and the many malpractices DAP raised the tired issues of
attentively. As we settled our- of the Federal Government in hudud and the banning of
selves into the few square feet trying to deny the PAS State karaoke and some supposed
of unoccupied space, a Government of its due in de- Chinese members of
makcik offered us a few pieces velopment and operational keADILan asked ludicrous
of newspapers to sit on – a budget. Also alluded to were questions like “will there be
simple gesture that immedi- the unsavoury practices and democracy if PAS takes over
ately established a sense of abuses committed during the the government?” and whether
oneness even among stran- Barisan Nasional’s long rule in PAS would accept Foreign Di-
gers. It was 15 October 2000, Terengganu when this oil-rich rect Investment from non-Mus-
when Haji Abdul Hadi state actually ran up a debt of lim countries.
Awang came to meet the peo- RM700 million!
ple of Penang.
This time, I really wondered
On the second occasion, it It was with mixed feelings that how the largely Malay crowd
was to the deafening drum- I listened to Haji Hadi’s felt. Has it not been said
beats of the lion dance that firsthand speech-making. enough times that hudud does
we stepped into the Penang Where was that rousing ora- not apply to non-Muslims? Is
Chinese Town Hall, and tory I had heard so much about the Chinese community so en-
within were the round tables but never heard before? His amoured of crooning at the
covered with red tablecloths deliberately calm and sober karaoke lounge that it comes
so typical of Chinese dinners. delivery, though well laced before issues of a united strug-
Most of the tables were still with humour and irony, was gle for freedom and justice?
unoccupied and like typical certainly not what I had ex- And, if the Chinese members
Chinese dinners, it was to be pected – was it a manifestation of keADILan cannot be sure
a long time before things got
of the transformation that po- that PAS can be true to demo-
started. It was the Malam
litical office has required of cratic practices – how can they
Mesra keADILan on 10 No-
vember 2000. him or was it because he felt join forces in Barisan Alterna-
the necessity to quell the fear tive? What then is the basis of
Entirely different moods and of “fundamentalism” that the Reformasi?
milieu – but ostensibly for the Chinese in Penang might har-
same cause – the furtherance bour? Once again, were these planted
of Reformasi. questions to offer PAS a plat-
Yet the crowd was largely form to allay the fears of the

Chinese in the audience? If so, When Dong Jiao Zhong leader, was roundly applauded. Tian
the latter should more rightly Loot Ting Yu, was allowed to Chua’s call for the continued
feel insulted than reassured. rant on stage for a full 45 min- struggle for justice, freedom
The “questions” were probably utes on the betrayal of the Chi- and democracy was answered
more reflective of the parties’ nese and Chinese education by with resounding shouts of
mindset – that they are still not the government, my heart went Reformasi!
able to shift from the racial out to those in the audience
paradigm. A fact sadly con- who knew not a word of Man- But the prize of the night went
firmed in the recent Lunas darin. I saluted their patience to former Kuching MP, Sim
nomination fiasco. in sitting through it. But if they Kwang Yang, for proposing
had understood what he was that DAP merges with
Leaders Should Not saying, they might not have keADILan and Parti Rakyat
Fail the Led exhibited equal forbearance. Malaysia (PRM). If that indeed
happens, BA would have
The same kind of racial over- achieved a new milestone and
tones tinged the keADILan laid the foundations for a truly
dinner. It was after all billed multiethnic party. Are the party
as a gathering for keADILan leaders ready for this?
leaders to meet the Chinese
community of Penang. Cheah The brave souls who risked in-
Kah Peng, the Penang jury and incarceration on Kesas
keADILan liaison chief, raised Highway on November 5, the
the curtain with a long diatribe thousands who congregated in
against vision schools. Sure, Kamunting on October 29 have
there are legitimate criticisms moved beyond the concerns of
to be levied against the way skin colour – let not those who
the policy is being pursued by are supposedly leading them
the UMNO-led government – Loot: Outdated Stance? reverse the tide.
and even more so, its attempt
to use the issue to fan racial Loot’s constant positing of the The multitude that gathered at
animosity in its bid to regain issue as “they” (government/ Sungei Nibong, Penang on Oc-
Malay support. Malay) against “us” reflected tober 15, the crowd that par-
his outdated chauvinistic took of the keADILan dinner
What bothered me was when stance that is definitely not the on November 10 may not be
Cheah switched to speaking in kind of stuff Reformasi should ready as yet to face the tear gas
English, the content of his be made of. From the reactions and the water cannons – but
speech was entirely different – of many in the audience, I had they are certainly sympathetic
there was not a reference to my doubts as to whether most to the call for a new premise
Chinese education. Are the BA of the dinner tickets were for Malaysian politics. Let those
politicians going to adopt the bought on the strength of sup- who are supposed to be lead-
BN practice of saying different port for Reformasi or Chinese ing them not fail them.
things to different audiences? education.
Surely this is not the basis for If the leaders cannot seize the
building a common under- This is not to deny that many moment, those who are sup-
standing and a united front? worthy words were said in the posedly the led will have to
However thorny the issue, course of that long dinner – blaze their own trail to keep
they need to be debated fully Azmin Ali’s pledge to defend the flame of reform burning, as
and openly. Is that not the es- the rights of all regardless of the Chinese rendition of
sence of transparency that BA race and his plea to the people Reformasi, Lei Huo Mo Xi, ex-
is supposed to champion? to stop being duped by BN lies horts. q

ALIRAN MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION FORM A GIFT
of one publication
Mr./Ms.
of your choice
Address
if you subscribe to
Subscription 1 year AIR RM Aliran

for 11 issues 2 years SEA Monthly
Donation for Aliran .............................................. RM NOW
(Tick one)
TOTAL Enclosed : Money Order / Postal Order / Cheque
RM
(No. ) payable to Aliran
AM 2000: 20(9)
Pandangan
SUBSCRIPTION RATES ALIRAN
COUNTRY ONE YEAR TWO YEARS

MALAYSIA RM25.00 RM50.00
SINGAPORE & BRUNEI S$28 S$50
The Arms Race:
AIR SEA AIR SEA Humanity in Crisis
ASIA & THE PACIFIC US$25 US$21 US$44 US$38
EUROPE & EGYPT US$28 US$21 US$50 US$38 AM 2000: 20(9)
AFRICA, NORTH AMERICA,
US$30 US$21 US$54 US$38
SOUTH AMERICA, HAWAII
“Liberty
GIFT SUBSCRIPTION of thought
ORDER FORM means
liberty
Please send this gift subscription to : AM 2000: 20(9)
to communicate
Mr./Ms. one's thought.”
Address
Salvador de Madariage
Subscription 1 year AIR 1886 - 1973
for 11 issues 2 years SEA Spanish diplomat, writer, critic
I enclose money order / postal order / cheque for the above order
amounting to RM payable to Aliran. Send this form and
payment to
This gift subscription is paid for and presented by:

Mr./Ms.
Address ALIRAN DISTRIBUTION
BUREAU
103, MEDAN PENAGA,
11600 JELUTONG,
PENANG, MALAYSIA
AM 2000: 20(9)
Date Signature

range of potentially lucrative busi-
nesses: Samy's Coffee Bean (or
should it be Has Been), Samy's
Pub, Samy's Boutique and Tie
Shop, Samy's Hair Dressing and
Transplant Salon. What say you,
Samy?
And now they’re clamouring for

Samy in Butterworth, reports The
Star. His reputation as the fastest
road-resurfacing artist this side of
the globe has really taken off.
Butterworth residents have been
complaining to the MCA Public
Services and Complaints Bureau
that money meant for Butterworth
was diverted to Lunas because of
Samy’s The Man! What a man!
the by-election. They are fuming
over middle sections of many
We’ve heard that Works Minister Anyway, we want our Tamil
roads dug up in the past three
and MIC leader Samy Vellu has "hero" (his own words) to keep his
weeks remaining uncovered and
been getting quite a few offers for promise to stay in Lunas until a
made worse by heavy rain.
residences in Lunas — from a low- Barisan Nasional candidate wins
cost corner terrace lot for a coffee the seat. He cannot leave till 2004
Tsk, tsk, Samy, you can’t let your
shop to a planter’s house in Vic- at earliest, that is, after the next
reputation go down a pothole. Get
toria Estate. They really love Samy general election. Indeed, a group
to it man, go prove to them you’re
in Lunas. Honest! Since he’s ar- of Lunas people calling them-
still their hero!
rived to campaign for the Lunas selves the Samy Vellu Welcoming
by-election, he has implemented Committee sent in this letter to Q Q Q Q Q
21 projects, resurfaced miles of Malaysiakini (boxed below).
roads, revived scores of housing Quotable Quirks
schemes, etc. etc. spending some If he remains in Lunas, Samy
“The people who bought the
RM31 millions in just 10 days! could also venture into a whole
houses are from the lower income
Selamat Datang ke Lunas, Datuk! The citizens of Lunas welcome to our roads and other facilities.
Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu with If you stay here permanently, we
open hands and are very happy will expect to see more develop-
to have an MIC leader to stay per- ment and in the next election we
manently in Lunas. will vote for the MIC candidate.
Then you are most welcome to
Datuk, welcome to Lunas. We be- return to KL.
lieve you are a man of your word
and you will stay on with us. Please don’t go back on your
word like most BN leaders do.
Since your arrival, we have seen
quite a number of quick upgrades Lunas Welcoming Committee

group and they have been wait- “They think that they know more, Kinabatangan who opined: “Men,
ing for their houses to be ready are cleverer than our judges.” when it comes to younger women,
for the last 12 years.” Samy Vellu Adullah Ahmad Badawi, com- they’ll definitely drool”.
remarking about an abandoned menting on some US Senators
housing scheme in Sungai Limau, pushing for a new trial for Anwar. When are our parliamentary
which he wants to revive in seven (The Star, Nov. 3). MCPs going to grow up!!
days for the Lunas by-election.
Yes, Dollah, they are cleverer than our Q Q Q Q Q
“I have also directed the Kedah judges!
Quote
Public Works Department to im- .................................
Of The Month
mediately supply piped water to
50 households at Kilang Lama “If he becomes president, I’m “Which airport in the world does
Village. They have been without sorry. It would be payah sikit for not have rats? Even your own
this basic amenity for about 43 us to have good relations.” home would have rats. So, you
years.” Samy Vellu again just be- Mahathir, on the prospect of Al should quit tomorrow because
fore the Lunas by-election (The Gore winning the American presi- you can’t take care of your own
Star, November 21). dency. (The Star, Nov. 4). house.” Ling Liong Sik, transport
minister, replying when two DAP
So, has your Ministry or your BN Payah sikit for whom – Malaysia or MPs who asked him to resign over
colleagues been sitting on their butts Mahathir? the rat problem at the new KL in-
all these years, Samy!? ................................. ternational airport, supposedly
................................. “turned the tables”on them and
“Where have all the Bumiputera remained “unrattled” according
male students gone to? Are they to The Star, Nov. 15.
interested in education?”
Mahathir, commenting on the fact Like MP Fong, we would rejoin:
that only 35% of Malay students “What sort of answer is this?”
in the universities were male (The More, what sort of minister is this?
Star, Nov. 4). And, what sort of reporting is this?
Come now, Star reporter, you don’t
Who, in the past 19 years, and 30 turn the tables on anyone with a
years after The Malay Dilemma lame, laughable and silly riposte
was written, was responsible for like that from a tikus of a minister!
the Bumiputera policy? In any
“If he is to live in that country, I case, what’s wrong with having Q Q Q Q Q
am sure he will be treated like more qualified females in the
sampah.” country? Are you sexist or some- Heaviest Element
thing, Mr. PM? Known To Science
Mahathir commenting on
KeADILan Youth chief’s Ezam “But Women are supposed to be The latest heaviest element known
Mohd Nor alleged lobbying of the to be touched by men” was the to science is Managerium.
US to impose economic sanctions facetious remark made by BN
on Malaysia. (The Star, Nov. 2) , member from Sri Gading, This element has no protons or
said: Mohamad Aziz in parliament electrons, but has a nucleus com-
when discussing women’s issues. posed of 1 Neutron, 7 Vice-Neu-
But Ezam is treated worse than trons, 30 junior vice-neutrons, 60
sampah in his own country! He was joined by his colleague assistant vice-neutrons, and 125
................................. Bung Mokhtar Radin from junior assistant vice-neutrons all

going in circles round the Neu- ing rural people.” face closure.(NST, 30 October
tron. 2000)
Alas, if only he would ask his
Managerium has a half-life of deputy, and Badawi, who was in The PM also said that “rural
eighteen months, at which time it Miri recently, would be able to tell school children who show poten-
does not decay but institutes a se- him how “ alarmed (he was) by tial are assisted and encouraged
ries of reviews leading to reorgani- the extent of the problems affect- to move to schools where they can
zation, restructuring or re-engi- ing rural education in Sabah and enjoy better facilities, such as
neering. Its molecules are held to- Sarawak” (The Star, 19 September those found in Smart Schools.”
gether by means of the exchange 2000)
of tiny particles known as Mo- How does one discover one’s po-
rons. Found in abundance near Surely, he would have seen and tential when the most basic infra-
Putrajaya. heard Deputy Education Minister structure is lacking, and for many,
Hon Choon Kim, on closed circuit no school to go to?
TV, revealing in Parliament that:
• 701 schools in Sarawak are

without piped water
• 444 schools use generators for
electriciry supply
• 61 do not even have generators
(Sun, 2 March.2000)
Q Q Q Q Q If only the PM would consult the

PM Tries To Fool Sabah Government Teachers Un-
A Student ion, its president Mohd Yusof
Mataim would enlighten him on
A “Love Your Country” pro- the plight of children from at least The PM also said “...of all sectors,
gramme was held at the Sekolah 1,000 kampungs in the state who the Government allocated the big-
Bestari Putrajaya recently. are wihout proper shelter at their gest amount to education, while
schools and are therefore unable 30 per cent of civil servants are
Form Four and Lower Six second- to continue their education (The teachers.”
ary students were selected to par- Star, 12 February 2000).
ticipate in the programme, where He failed to mention that the bulk
the PM was the honoured guest What about the orang asli? “On of the teaching profession are in
(NST, 9 October 2000) . the fringes of Kuala Lumpur, lie the urban rather than the rural
pockets of orang asli children who areas, and, according to Badawi,
A student (probably one of those do not have access to even the ba- some 3,500 teachers’ quarters in
who loves the country enough to sic facilities - water supply and Sabah and Sarawak have been
give officials a “slip” from “se- electricity, let alone to education.” identified as being in “bad
lected” questions) commented: (The Star, 5 March 2000) shape”.
“...it seems that the Government What about the 520 Tamil schools Alas, when the Prime Minister
spends more on education in ur- in the country, most of which, ac- does not tell the truth in the pres-
ban areas than in rural areas.” cording to Samy Vellu, are in a ence of a group of students, what
deplorable condition and lack future has this country?
The PM responded by saying that basic necessities such as tables
the Government “was not neglect- and chairs. 200 of these schools Martin Jalleh

40 Years is Enough!
Abolish the Internal Security Act
by Dr Francis Loh
A huge crowd protested

outside the gates of the
dreaded Kamunting
Detention Camp

n estimated crowd of 1 . Pembubaran Akta Keselamatan Pasir, a few hundred metres away.
A 2,500 people from all
over the country con-
Dalam Negeri 1960 dan semua
akta lain yang benarkan
There, by a stream in an open
space in the middle of the village
verged in Kamunting penahanan tanpa bicara; when a make-shift speaker’s ros-
(near Taiping, Perak) on Sunday, trum had been put up, a forum
29 October, to protest 40 years 2 . Pembebasan semua tahanan yang was held.
of the Internal Security Act (ISA). masih ditahan dibawah ISA dan
The crowd began gathering in undang-undang lain yang The crowd heard from seven to
front of the guard house, at the membenarkan penahanan tanpa eight former detainees who re-
gates of the dreaded Kamunting bicara; counted their experiences under
detention camp, from about 9.00 detention. Some emphasised the
am. Some youths who had ap- 3 . Menjalankan satu Siasatan Bebas harsh conditions they encoun-
parently come from Kuala terhadap penyiksaan dan tered, most painful of all was be-
Lumpur put on a skit to depict penganiayaan yang dilakukan ke ing deprived of their loved ones.
the cruelty of the ISA and how atas bekas ISA dan membayar Others, to stress the arbitrariness
arbitrarily it had been used in gantirugi kepada ahli keluarga of how the ISA could be applied,
the recent past. They also led the mereka. recounted how the authorities
crowd in singing some songs of approached them to implicate
protest, one of which was the The declaration was followed others who were completely in-
amended version of Barisan Kita, by spontaneous shouts of nocent. Still others spoke of the
made popular by the reformasi Mansuhkan ISA! (Abolish the true friends they found among
movement these past two ISA!), Cukup 40 Tahun! (40 Years fellow detainees while in
years….Semboyan telah berbunyi, is Enough!), ISA Zalim! (The ISA Kamunting. There was also spe-
Menuju Reformasi. is Cruel!), Hidup Kebebasan! cial thanks offered to the people
(Long Live Freedom!), Hidup of Kg Pasir who provided them
At about 10am a group of former Rakyat! (Long Live the People!), with fresh fruit and warm meals
detainees stepped forward to face Hidup Kebebasan! (Long Live from time-to-time, and who wel-
the crowd, their backs to the gates. Freedom!) And as these shouts comed the detainees’ families
Somebody called for silence. And filled the early morning Kamun- into their homes when they came
as though it was a call for prayer ting air, dozens of brightly col- to visit.
the mood turned solemn. The oured balloons were released.
noise turned to a whisper. The It was a most meaningful morn-
former detainees then led the Looking up, as the red, blue, yel- ing spent among fellow
crowd: low and other coloured balloons Malaysians. The crowd was well-
floated freely into the heavens I behaved and the gathering was
Kami, rakyat Malaysia yang thought back of how, three years completely peaceful. The
berhimpun di sini ago, we had also shouted the same Kamunting police who had not
Pada tanggal 29hb Oktober 2000, Di slogans, in front of the same de- prevented the gathering from be-
hadapan kem Penahanan Kamunting tention camp, to mark the 10th an- ing held were praised and offered
Yang datang dari pelbagai kumpulan niversary of Operasi Lalang, a a round of applause. In fact, the
etnik dan agama mass crackdown against dissent peaceful gathering had moments
Dari kawasan-kawasan yang dekat in October 1987. But whereas which not only touched the heart
dan jauh there were only about 150 people but the spirit too.
Dari pelbagai organisasi dan parti then present, today there were
politik gathered perhaps twenty times But clearly, the people had also
more people. awakened. They were no longer
Dengan ini mendesak afraid of standing up for justice
Pada ulangtahun ke 40 The crowd then marched along and to protest against the heinous
Akta Zalim ISA digubal the left and right sides of the road ISA and other harsh laws. I felt so
– so as to let the traffic drive by – proud to be a Malaysian that Oc-
Dengan ini Menuntut to a certain humble Kampung tober morning. q

INTERNATIONAL
Stop Barak!
Israeli Aggression Threatens to Take Us Back to 1948
by Tanya Reinhart
he second stage in Isra-
T el’s assault on the Pales-
tinians has started al-
ready. They waited for
the Arab League summit to end
and then, away from the cameras,
Barak started executing the big
plan.
There is hardly any media cover-

age of what is actually happen-
ing. The propaganda technique
for this week is to keep the issue
The body of Fahmi Abu Amunah, 21, who was killed by Israeli gunfire during heavy
in the news, creating an impres- clashes at the Netzarim crossing in the centre of Gaza.
sion of coverage, but in fact, pro-
vide no actual information, or keep ing travel between regions impos- ment walls. The imposition of
us busy with trivia -like the Israeli sible. The closure has gravely im- siege upon the Palestinian cities
coalition negotiations (as if there pacted health service delivery to and blocking the roads connect-
is any difference between Barak Palestinians. Patients with seri- ing them together leads to sepa-
and Sharon). Another smoke- ous injuries requiring referral to rating them from each other.”
screen is the heated discussion of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, or Egypt for
Barak’s plan for ‘unilateral sepa- specialized care are unable to be The Israeli army prevents any
ration’ - a recycled motive which transported. UPMRC’s and other movement in or out of the sealed
has been brought up many times health organizations’ medical areas. There are reports on people
already in the past. As disgusting teams are facing incredible diffi- going to work in the fields and get-
as this plan is, it has nothing to culties reaching sick patients. The ting shot on their way. It is now
do with what is actually going on Primary Health Care system in up to Israel whether the locked
now, beside giving the impression Palestine has become paralyzed people will have food and water
that business is, essentially, as since doctors cannot access clin- in the coming days, when the di-
usual. ics and patients in rural areas minishing supply ends. Planes
cannot access city hospitals”. carrying aid are denied entrance.
But the picture which emerges Israel controls also their electric-
from Palestinian (and other) elec- In this week, the siege was sev- ity and telephone lines. Their dis-
tronic reports of the last two days ered. “In a highly dangerous step, connection is being discussed in
is different and terrifying. the Israelis have been enforcing Israeli media.
the siege imposed upon the Pal-
A Complete Siege estinian population centers espe- Bombardment And
cially the cities of Bethlehem and ‘ E va c u a t i o n ’
Already since last week “The Hebron in the West Bank. This
West Bank and Gaza Strip is un- morning the belligerent Israeli Oc- With the majority of Palestinians
der complete siege. Every village cupation Forces have blocked the locked defenseless in their towns,
and town has been cut off, mak- entrances of the two cities by ce- Israel is now trying to generate

‘evacuation’ of designated areas Israel will force a real full evacua- estinians are using the same tac-
in the central West Bank. This is tion. So far, such reports have gen- tics as in 48” (Zeev Shif to Amikam
done by heavy bombardment ac- erated no protest in Israel, or Rothman in radio B morning pro-
companied by calls to the resi- abroad. gram, 24.10).
dents to evacuate. They are using
rockets from attack helicopters, In Israel they view this week of Even the shamefully little that the
tanks, heavy machine gun ammu- horror as just the beginning. Dan Palestinians got in the Oslo ac-
nition, and ‘launched’ grenades. Halutz, commander of the Israeli cords is too much for Barak. If we
Armed Forces “ has threatened to let him, Barak will carry out his
On Monday, Col. Raanan Gissin, bring the weight of the air force Ben Gurion vision. And it won’t
an Israel army spokesman, prom- down on the Palestinians if the necessarily stop in one front. As-
ised proudly that “Beit Jala, Beit current unrest escalates” And he sured of US support, fascinated by
Sahour and other (Palestinian) provides a detailed reasoning for his own power, he may drag the
places will turn into Beirut.” Beit sending the airforce against un- whole area into a horrible war.
Jala’s bombardment is the only armed civilians: “So far, Halutz Some analysts have always
case which was widely reported. said, the risks of using the air force warned that World War III - the
But Beit Sahour has also been un- have not outweighed the benefits. final one - may start in the Middle
der fire. As for the ‘other Pales- No helicopters have been at risk. East. Israel is led now by a luna-
tinian places’, “Israeli helicopters He added that the IAF has no in- tic, megalomaniac general, who
shelled Bethlehem in the West formation that the Palestinians keeps his plans secret even from
Bank and ordered the residents of have shoulder-held anti-aircraft his government. And it is this gen-
the eastern parts of the city to missiles.” Safe and clean slaugh- eral who is authorized to unleash
evacuate their houses because ter - lots of benefits. That’s how Israel’s nuclear arsenal. This is
they were to be shelled”. It ap- they talk now in power drunk Is- not a risk the world can take.
pears that in Hebron, they are try- rael.
ing to expand the “Jewish quar- But he can still be stopped. This
ters” and drive residents out of Where Does time it is not like Iraq or Kosovo.
neighboring areas. This Lead To ? Opposition to Israel around the
world is enormous. The US has
Reports in the Israeli media speak Trying to figure out the full pic- not managed to mobilize even
of a massive evacuation of Beit ture, it is hard to avoid compari- the Western world around this
Jala: “Residents of Beit Jala and son to 1948, when the Israeli army, new crusade, as it did then.
northern Beit Lehem left their under Ben Gurion’s orders, drove They didn’t prepare it carefully
homes,” says a TV report, “Hun- hundreds of thousands of Pales- enough. The propaganda ma-
dreds of civilians fled Beit Jala and tinians out of their homes, and chine did not start on time, and
the nearby Aida refugee camp, fol- confined the remaining to closed, even if it had, it is difficult to sell
lowing warnings by the army” re- restricted areas, governed for years the world that it is the Palestin-
ports Lamia Lahoud in the Jeru- by military rule. Barak declared ians who are committing atroci-
salem Post. many times that his role-model has ties against the Israelis. Empires
always been Ben-Gurion. Perhaps fell in history precisely when
These reports are not confirmed we are beginning to get a glimpse they started to believe they are
so far by any Palestinian sources. of what he meant. omnipotent. q
Personal witnesses speak of fami-
lies who had to leave when their 1948 is already “in the air” in the
house was demolished, while the public discourse in Israel. The
majority of residents still resist the perverse Israeli self image, guided
Professor Tanya Reinhart
pressure. Possibly Israel is gener- by massive propaganda, is that it
teaches at Tel Aviv Univer-
ating exaggerated reports as a psy- is the Israelis who are being un-
sity and the University of
chological warfare, in an attempt der siege, fighting for their inde-
Utrecht. She can be reached
to create panic and ‘encourage’ pendence, threatened by the Pal-
residents of this area to leave on estinian empire and the whole at Tanya@MiddleEast.Org
their own. But such reports may Arab world, just like in 1948. And
also be a test and preparation of we already hear main stream com- Source: Mid-East Realities
public opinion for the day when mentators saying that “The Pal-

lice to take stern action against
those responsible for assaulting
Lokman in full public view.
It is most unfortunate that the po-

lice have chosen to ignore the wise
counsel of the Malaysian Human
Rights Commission (Suhakam)
that they should be people-
friendly and non-confrontational.
If they had only heeded its advice,
the arrests and brutality would
have been avoided. The Home
Minister cannot be absolved of
responsibility for today’s events.
He should have ensured that the
A record of Aliran's stand on current affairs. police act with restraint at all
times.
Why Was Lokman being kicked amidst busy flow of Aliran calls upon the police to
Beaten, Punched traffic. Lokman was later detained immediately and unconditionally
And Kicked? by the police. Is there a need to bru- release those detained. We also
tally assault and detain those call on the authorities to drop all
Aliran is appalled at the harsh peacefully exercising their demo- charges of illegal assembly lev-
treatment meted out at the peace- cratic rights? From experience, elled earlier against some 30 other
ful assembly of some 200 public gatherings such as these Malaysians.
Malaysians who gathered outside tend to be peaceful until the po-
court today to follow the trial of lice intervene or until they are dis- Aliran Executive Committee
those who had been charged for rupted by agent provocateurs. 4 August 2000
illegal assembly previously.
According to reports, those de- Restore Democracy
By all accounts, it was a peaceful, tained were: To Burma
orderly gathering. Those present • Lokman Noor Adam,
were merely chanting and distrib- keADILan youth exco member, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, 1991
uting leaflets. Their actions did • N Gopalakrishnan, keADILan Nobel Peace Prize laureate and
not disrupt the normal routine of youth exco member leader of the National League for
city dwellers, nor were there any • A young man identified only Democracy (NLD), has once
reports of unruly behaviour from as Munawar, again been prevented from travel-
those present. What they did was • An activist, Munasufian, ling out of Rangoon, ostensibly be-
within their legitimate rights as • Norazimah Mohd Noor, cause she has not observed
citizens in a democracy - rights • Zainab Rahmah, and “proper security arrangements”.
that are acknowledged by the Uni- • A woman identified only as Together with other NLD leaders,
versal Declaration of Human Rahimah she is now camped out in a car for
Rights, which has been accepted the 9th night running (as of 1
by all civilised nations. Aliran is gravely disturbed that Sept).
there is an increasing perception
We are particularly shocked by the that the police, who are supposed Two years ago, Suu Kyi was also
reports of five plainclothes men - to be the keepers of the peace, are prevented from travelling out of
agent provocateurs? - beating and now being seen as perpetrators of her home in Rangoon and was
punching Lokman Noor Adam; at violence. To salvage the image and forced to spend 13 nights in her
one point, he was reportedly ly- credibility of the police, we call car until dehydration brought her
ing in the middle of the road and upon the Inspector General of Po- standoff with the Burmese mili-

tary authorities to an end. Based Bandar Kuching Song Swee Guan Aliran is concerned that the
on that experience, she has (also Padungan State Assembly- Sarawak United People’s Party
brought along with her extra wa- man and Sarawak State Assem- (SUPP) plans to raise funds from
ter and supplies this time. Villag- bly Speaker) a bankrupt. among supporters to bail out
ers in the surrounding area have Song. Unless the public is in-
also provided her and other NLD Song’s bankruptcy highlights the formed about the reasons for
leaders with food and water. No inadequacy of the present system Song’s bankruptcy, there should
doubt she will hold her ground of financial accountability and be no bailout using funds raised
much longer this time. transparency among politicians, from the public.
senior public servants and judges
Aliran joins the world in con- in Malaysia. Presently, all Barisan Like in the peninsula, there is too
demning the Burmese military re- Nasional politicians only declare much patronage, shady-dealings,
gime and offering Aung San Suu their assets to the Prime Minister. and overlap between politics and
Kyi our moral support. The re- Presumably, opposition politi- business in Sarawak. A lot is hid-
gime’s restrictions exposes the cians do the same to their respec- den from public scrutiny. This
sham that she is no longer under tive party chiefs. aversion to accountability and
house arrest. In fact she is not al- transparency among our elected
lowed to travel freely in her own But this system is far from satis- representatives only breeds un-
country. factory. Aliran has always called healthy ties between businessmen
upon those who aspire for office and politicians and encourages
ASEAN governments, which have to declare their assets publicly corruption.
argued that “constructive engage- and upon those elected to update
ment” with the military junta in those declarations annually. Ironically, in the aftermath of the
Burma has brought about an 1997 High Court decision that
opening of the country, have a re- How is it possible for Song, who declared void the BN victory in the
sponsibility towards ensuring held three salaried positions, to Bukit Begunan state seat in 1996
that Aung San Suu Kyi fundamen- be declared a bankrupt? In the on account of “massive vote-buy-
tal rights are restored. last parliament, Song also held ing”, SUPP President and
three salaried positions: Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister
More than that, the ASEAN gov- Kuching MP, Padungan state Dr. George Chan said “money
ernments have a responsibility to seat representative, and Kuching politics was very obvious and had
force the Burmese military junta City South Mayor. What is it infected the state.”
to begin serious negotiations with about Song’s lifestyle and his fi-
Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD nancial dealings that led him Aliran is thus disappointed that
to restore democracy to Burma. into this impasse? Dr. Chan has yet to heed his own
(Some 82 per cent of voter in words and start wiping out
Burma had voted for the NLD in Aliran feels that Song, as an money politics within his own
the 1990 national elections.) Al- elected representative, should party, let alone Sarawak.
ternatively, they should disallow come clean and explain his situa-
the Burmese military authorities tion publicly. Apparently he was As for Song and SUPP, the only
from representing Burma in involved in business while he honourable choice for him is to
ASEAN. claimed three salaries. And ap- immediately resign from all his
parently his bankruptcy is a re- seats. This time, Aliran calls on
Dr Francis Loh sult of his business dealings go- the electorate of Kuching and
Secretary ing bust. If so, how long have Padungan to insist that all elec-
1 September 2000 these problems been festering? toral candidates first declare their
Was Song already in trouble be- assets in all daily newspapers be-
Song Should fore the November 1999 elections? fore elections.
Face The Music Why then did SUPP/BN re-nomi-
nate him? Or are his problems of Anil Netto
On 22 August, the Kuching High recent origin? The electorate has Executive Committee
Court declared SUPP/BN MP for a right to know. 1 September 2000

Imaginary bouring areas in Negeri Sembilan, contempt of the very notion of
Hobgoblins where the deadly Nipah virus press freedom and freedom of ex-
once killed dozens of pig farmers, pression, which should be the
Aliran views with concern Prime into a tourism spot reflects an ob- cornerstone of a thriving democ-
Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s session with tourism that has racy. It has been seen as the latest
labelling of the Malaysian Chi- gone amok, defying human de- move in a continuous official
nese Associations’ Election Ap- cency. drive to narrow the space for le-
peals Committee (Suqiu) as an ex- gitimate dissent and alternative
tremist group whose demands are NS state assemblyman Yeow Chai ideas.
similar to the communists in the Thiam was quoted as saying that
past. he hoped that the tourism project If it is true that Ekslusif had not
would “attract tourists from the been balanced in its reporting - the
We note that Suqiu handed its 17- region, including China, India and official justification for the ban -
point demand list to the Cabinet, Japan, (as well as) the United then mainstream newspapers
which accepted it in principle on States and Britain.” such as Utusan Malaysia, New
23 September 1999, just before the Straits Times and The Star should
general election last November. Are we to conclude that a sense of also face a similar fate. These pub-
compassion, let alone remorse, lications have shown a tendency
Much of what was in the list was has been lost in the government’s to provide one-sided reporting,
aimed at reaching the goal of a unrelenting drive to attract the ignoring the right of aggrieved
civil society, which is also the aim tourist ringgit? parties to respond to certain as-
of Vision 2020. sertions and accusations hurled
Surely we can all draw some at them by other parties or indi-
So we fail to see why Suqiu should meaningful lessons - instead of viduals.
be singled out for stinging con- trying to make money - from this
demnation when the real culprits dreadful tragedy that had caused The mainstream media’s cover-
who harp on communal issues misery, suffering and death. age of the last general election, for
escape scot free. instance, was replete with unfair
Aliran therefore calls on the au- and unethical reporting. Will the
We call on the government not to thorities concerned to drop this Home Ministry care to investigate
create imaginary ghosts with shameful proposal. and arrest this unhealthy trend?
which to frighten the people. We
hope the Prime Minister isn’t play- Executive Committee And while it is at it, would then
ing practical politics of the type 5 September 2000 Home Ministry also clarify the sta-
mentioned by H.L. Mencken who tus of the publication permits for
remarked cynically that “The An Eksklusif the monthly Malay political maga-
whole aim of practical politics is Ban On Freedom zine, Detik, and the monthly
to keep the populace alarmed — of Expression Malay teen magazine, Al-Wasilah,
and thus clamorous to be led to both of which have been unable
safety — by menacing it with an The Home Ministry’s banning of to continue publication?
endless series of hobgoblins, all the weekly Malay tabloid,
of them imaginary.” Eksklusif, along with the non-re- Aliran urges the Home Ministry
newal of other publication per- to take a balanced view of real
Aliran Executive Committee mits, has reinforced public per- journalism before it takes any dras-
2 September 2000 ception that the government is tic action that may violate the peo-
determined to clamp down on ple’s right to freedom of expres-
Bukit Pelanduk publications that are seen to be sion and tarnish the image of the
Tourism Proposal critical, investigative and inde- country.
pendent.
In Bad Taste
Dr Mustafa K Anuar
The government’s plan to convert This action against Eksklusif per- Asst Secretary
Bukit Pelanduk and its neigh- haps reflects the government’s 7 September 2000

Only a Commission of Inquiry
can Clear Eusoff Chin
liran rejects the state- Those in the know colluded with Chin with acts of impropriety. The
A ment of the Attorney-
General as reported on
the IGP and denied any knowl-
edge of the assault. Information
AG’s Chambers after a “full-scale
investigation” concluded that
18-11-2000 with regard was withheld and justice was ob- there was no truth whatsoever in
to the allegations of misconduct structed. the 112 allegations. The AG did
levelled against the former Chief not prosecute Justice Syed Idid,
Justice, Tun Eusoff Chin as It took a Commission of Inquiry to the writer of the letter, for circulat-
“closed after a full-scale investi- expose the conspirators and es- ing false allegations which tar-
gation by the Chambers and other tablish the truth. What the police nished and ridiculed the judici-
relevant authorities like the police tried to hide was finally unraveled ary. But Lim Guan Eng and Irene
and the Anti-Corruption Agency. by the Commission. Fernandez had to face the wrath
of the law allegedly printing
The public at large will not accept In light of this shameful episode “false information”.
his decision or be convinced by does the AG expect thinking
his claim, “It is agreeable that Malaysians to believe that “after Does the AG expect the public to
there is no case against Eusoff. a full-scale investigation by the think that there was indeed a cred-
The matter is treated as closed.” police there was no case to be an- ible “full-scale investigation”?
(The Sun 18-11-2000) swered?
Malaysians have no faith in the
An internal investigation cannot Malaysians will also recall what investigations of the “Chambers
be conclusive or taken seriously. was revealed by the former Anti- and other relevant authorities like
It cannot be thorough or unbiased. Corruption Agency head Shafee the police and the Anti-Corrup-
It is not expected to unearth any- Yahya. According to him when the tion Agency” and would reject
thing believable going by prec- ACA raided the then Economic their conclusions with regard to
edence. Planning Unit head, Ali Abul the allegations of misconduct
Hassan Sulaiman’s office in 1998, against Eusoff Chin.
Lie After Lie they discovered large sums of cash
Malaysians will recall how the in his drawers which could not be Eusoff Chin can only be cleared
police deliberately lied about accounted for. According to him by a Commission of Inquiry con-
Anwar’s state of health following the Prime Minister interceded in cerning not only his holiday in
his arrest. The foremost police- this matter and after reprimanding New Zealand but also the vari-
man in the country, the Inspector him for his trouble ordered the in- ous allegations contained in Jus-
General of Police, lied through his vestigation to stop. Recently, it was tice Syed Idid’s letter.
teeth by telling the nation that he announced that Ali Abul Hassan
was safe and sound after almost Sulaiman could not be prosecuted It is important for the integrity and
killing him by his cowardly and for lack of sufficient evidence. image of the judiciary that he be
brutal assault on a helpless exonerated by a Royal Commis-
Credibility Gap
Anwar. The highest policeman sion of Inquiry. As long as this is
was a proven liar. After this revelation what credibil- not done, the judiciary would re-
ity would the ACA command in main tainted and tarnished, un-
A subsequent police committee set the eyes of the public for its so- dermining public confidence in
up to identify the assailant of called “full-scale investigation”? our system of justice.
Anwar, after dilly-dallying for al-
most five months declared that it In 1966 a former High Court Judge P. Ramakrishnan
was not able to pin-point the cul- in a 33-page letter had implicated President
prit. a dozen judges including Eusoff 21 November 2000

AGM
A l i r a n ’ s 2 4 t h AGM
Ramakrishnan was re- Jubal Lourdes.
P elected as president of
Aliran at its 24th An- After debating the cur-
nual General Meeting rent political situation,
held on 19 November 2000 in especially the state of
Rumah Aliran in Penang. Also re- the judiciary, the meet-
elected were Dr Francis Loh as ing resolved “to call
Secretary, Dr Mustafa K Anuar as upon the government
Asst Secretary, Dr SP Subra- to appoint a Royal
maniam as Treasurer and Soo Kar Commission to inquire
Peng as Hon. Auditor. Others into the state of the
elected as members of the Execu- Malaysian judiciary
tive Committee for 2001 are: Gan with a view to restoring
Kong Hwee, Zaharom Nain, Anil its integrity and inde-
Netto, Dr Khoo Boo Teik, Dr Chan pendence.”
Chee Khoon, S Francis Xavier, Dr P Ramakrishnan
Prema Devaraj, Pajand Singh, Dr President
Molly Lee, Andrew Wong, and 19 November 2000
Resolution
This 24th Annual General ter written and circulated by (f) the findings and the rec-
Meeting of Aliran Kesedaran former High Court judge Syed ommendation of a mis-
Negara, held on 19 November Idid; sion on behalf of the In-
2000, taking into considera- ternational Bar Associa-
tion the following develop- (c) the statement made by the late tion, the Centre for the In-
ments that have tarnished the Tun Mohamad Suffian, in dependence of Judges and
integrity and undermined the which he mentioned interalia Lawyers of the Interna-
independence of our beloved that he would not want to be tional Commission of Ju-
country’s judiciary: tried by a Malaysian judge, es- rists, the Commonwealth
pecially, if he is innocent; Lawyers’ Association
(a) the unethical manner in and the Union
which the Lord President (d) the questioning of the propri- Internationale Des Avo-
Tun Salleh Abas and two ety of the Chief Justice, Tun cates.
other supreme court Eusoff Chin, by Minister Dato
judges were dismissed in Dr Rais Yatim in June this year; Resolves to call upon the
1988; Government to appoint a
(e) the controversial manner in Royal Commission to inquire
(b) the 112 serious allegations which Anwar Ibrahim and into the state of the Malaysian
of corruption and malprac- some of his associates were, Judiciary with a view to re-
tices implicating 12 judges convicted and sentenced by storing its integrity and inde-
contained in a 33 page let- different courts; and pendence.

DRIVING FOR DEMOCRACY ... Continued from page 40
ners and flags back at the chop- Young men were standing on I look at it this way: if a crowd of
per. I gazed straight ahead: it was top of the two-feet high concrete 50,000 people at a football sta-
hopeless – four lanes of highway road dividers waving keADILan dium were to disperse after a
choked with stationary traffic. and PAS flags. We heard reports game, I doubt that the volume of
Someone said we were still 5-7 km that thousands of cars and vans traffic on the road would be as
away from the “action” – the had choked all highways lead- much as it was on the Kesas high-
ceramah dubbed “The 100,000 ing to Jalan Kebun, near Shah way and other approach roads
Gathering: Restore the People’s Alam despite stern warnings that afternoon. So my own guess
Rights.” Everyone it seemed was from the authorities to stay is that the crowd would have been
heading that way. I had not seen away. more than 50,000 that Sunday if
anything like it before. all locations (the police cordons
In the hours leading to the rally, had split the crowds) and ap-
The police, it seemed, had antici- hundreds of security personnel proach roads were considered.
pated the huge turnout and had staged a major show of force to
cordoned off the private property block the rally, which was de- Then there were the thousands of
at Jalan Kebun (between Shah clared illegal. Organizers, who others who drove around on a
Alam and Kelang), where the had twice applied for a permit to wild goose chase, thinking that the
ceramah was due to be held, the use the National Stadium only to venue had been changed at the
night before. be refused permission, decided to last minute due to the police cor-
go ahead with it anyway, on pri- don. Some ended up in Shah
History Being Made vate property. Alam, others in Kelang; still oth-
ers headed for the National
We were nowhere near the ceramah Later, police used water cannon Mosque. Many others were di-
site. But no one seemed to mind and fired tear gas into the verted or stopped at police road
too much. Something miraculous “frontline” demonstrators, forc- blocks. Others probably shied
had happened and we knew we ing opposition party leaders to away due to the stern police warn-
were witnessing – and were in- leave the scene as soon as they ings.
deed a part of – history being had finished their speeches.
made. A horrendous traffic jam The evening before, police had
had suddenly been transformed More Than 50,000 detained six demonstrators in a
into an impromptu highway chilling warning of what
reformasi demonstration! People How many people actually turned reformasi supporters could expect
all along the highway were revel- up that Sunday afternoon? if they turned up. Newspapers
ling in Malaysia’s longest demon- Internet websites said 10,000. The and television had quoted the au-
stration – surely something for the mainstream newspapers natu- thorities as saying that those who
Malaysia Book of Records – and rally said it was much less than take part on Sunday would be
relishing this overwhelming dis- that. The truth is no one can re- harshly dealt with. As a result, I
play of People Power. The People ally be sure. From any one loca- didn’t think that more than 5,000
had “taken over” the Kesas high- tion, it was impossible to see the people would turn up. But all
way. entire crowd and all the traffic those warnings and threats ap-
along all the roads leading to parently did not deter the crowds.
I spotted someone who looked fa- Jalan Kebun. So how to estimate?
miliar: Rustam Sani, the Barisan The only people who could see Were there 100,000 people? Who
Alternatif’s media bureau head, the whole crowd were those folks knows? It seemed like an outpour-
walking briskly up the highway in the helicopters. And they had ing of humanity - and it was. Wan
after “abandoning” his car. “I like to fly up and down, hither and Azizah later remarked that the
the feeling here,” he said happily. thither, for kilometres. That says crowd was in the region of
“The crowd here seem friendlier something about the size of the 100,000. Sounding jubilant after
and they seem to recognise me.” crowd. the gathering was Saari Sungib,

chairman of the event’s organiz- times had changed. nary Malaysians, who have to pay
ing committee. “We would like to ever-increasing road tolls and util-
claim we got 100,000. This is the The back of a van opened and this ity rates. Today, the people had
first time in the history of Malay- guy took out a box full of VCDs: taken over one highway, for an
sia that the people could walk all “The Sham Trial of Anwar Ibrahim: afternoon at least.
over and sit on a major highway,” an explosive documentary by the
he said. Australian Broadcasting Corpora- The crowd was largely ethnic
tion.” He was selling them at Malay, many with entire families
Smiling, Laughing, RM10 each. They were quickly in tow. Where were the non-
Praying snapped up. Malays, I wondered. Busy shop-
ping at Suria, KLCC or MidValley
That they did. Never has there Others chanted “Reformasi!” and Megamall? But small groups of
been such a Malaysian traffic jam “Undur, undur; undur Mahathir!” young Chinese and Indian
in which so many people were (“Resign, resign; resign, Malaysians - some university stu-
smiling and laughing. One fam- Mahathir!) Two little children dents, others activists – were mak-
ily spread newspapers on the road stuck their heads out of a car win- ing their presence felt.
and were eating, of all things, dow and yelled and waved furi-
durians. Heck, why not. ously. Strangers greeted each Not everyone looked happy
though. When asked what was
happening, one Malay man re-
plied sourly, “Nampak macam pesta
sahaja (Looks like a carnival).”
Others remained in their vehicles,
caught up in something they
didn’t quite understand. Some
vehicles made U-turns and drove
back down the wrong way of the
highway in between stationary
cars, heading for the nearest exit.
But the vast majority stayed put.
No matter that most of the

reformasi supporters could not be
at the actual ceramah (forum) site.
There, the leaders of the four main
About half a dozen Muslim men other with the “thumbs-up” sign. opposition parties - Anwar’s wife
were praying on a mat placed on Wan Azizah Wan Ismail of
the road between two cars. They Someone shouted “takbir!” A keADILan (the National Justice
were standing, bowing and then group nearby, punching their fists Party), Fadzil Noor of PAS (the Is-
crouching, their foreheads touch- in the air, responded: “Allahu lamic Party), Lim Kit Siang of the
ing the mat. Probably asking God Akhbar!” (“God is great!”) He sure Democratic Action Party, and Syed
to save Malaysia, I thought. A is. Husin Ali of Parti Rakyat Malay-
young Malay lad walked around sia (Malaysian People’s Party) -
with a tray selling drinks strapped Everywhere people were telling were delivering speeches. As soon
around his neck, like he was in a each other excitedly, “Reformasi as they had finished, police fired
football stadium. Another couple has taken over the Kesas high- tear gas into the crowd.
sold copies of the opposition way” or words to that effect. It
Rocket newspaper from the back sounded highly symbolic: many Azizah, in a wheelchair due to a
of their car - a Malay gentleman grumble about highway tolls, ar- recent leg injury, was immediately
selling Malay editions of the guing that Mahathir’s privatiza- surrounded by a human shield,
Rocket. I could only marvel at how tion policy has not benefited ordi- lifted out of her wheelchair and

whisked to safety. One tear gas board hanging from the side.
cannister was apparently aimed They could not possibly have
at her, she claimed later, but struck read what was ironically writ-
an aide who fell injured. ten in big bold letters on the
board they were banging: “Ma-
“As we were telling them [the laysia Milik Kita: Teruskan Tradisi
crowd] to leave, the police am- Ini” (“Malaysia is Ours: Con-
bushed us,” Azizah was quoted tinue this Tradition”) – Hong
as saying. “The crowd was very Leong Assurance.
quiet.”
Amid the euphoria emerged
Courage Despite news of the price some had to
The Odds pay. More than 120 people had
been detained and rights activ- played tremendous courage de-
As the crowd from the ceramah ists said they only had the spite the odds, despite the in-
site returned along the Kesas names of about 40 of them that timidation, despite all the nega-
highway with banners draped evening. Reports emerged of po- tive propaganda. For keADILan,
around them, they were greeted lice allegedly beating up detain- which spearheaded the event,
with thunderous cries of ees as they led them away, the turnout was a tremendous
Refomasi! by those on the other smashing car windscreens and boost. Long in the shadows of
side of the road who had been puncturing car tyres. PAS, it proved that it does have
unable to reach the rally. I spot- substantial support across the
ted PAS’ Mahfuz Omar, his eyes Photographers recording these country. Thousands had con-
verged along the highway from
other states on the peninsula. I
spotted keADILan secretary-
general Mohd Anuar Tahir
strolling along the highway.
“The previous night nearly all
the budget hotels around Kuala
Lumpur were heavily booked,”
he told me.
It was a psychological victory

for the Barisan Alternatif (Alter-
native Front) as well after
months of cementing inter-party
ties. More significantly, it was a
victory for People Power and a
sweet moment for all who cher-
red as a result of the tear gas. incidents had their rolls of film ish justice. Ordinary people saw
The crowd was trying to hoist confiscated. More disturbing re- for themselves what they could
him up on the divider to deliver ports of tear gas cannisters be- do given their strength in num-
an impromptu speech, but he de- ing dropped from a helicopter, bers.
clined. “Come over to Taman frightened children trying to flee
Melawar tonight,” he pacified the tear gas fumes, a man losing One thing was clear that after-
them. “We are having a ceramah his vision as a result of being di- noon. Those who felt that
there tonight.” rectly sprayed in his eyes were reformasi would fade away with
later posted on the Internet. time had been proven wrong in
On an overpass, a group leaned a way that could not possibly
over and thumped a metal bill- That afternoon, Malaysians dis- have been more emphatic. q

Peaceful Gathering
And Violent Police Reaction
liran deplores the vio-
A lence perpetrated by the
police on a peaceful
gathering on Sunday 5
November 2000 and condemns
their harsh and cruel behaviour
which is totally unbecoming of a
peace-keeping force.
When the keepers of the peace

turn violent and act as thugs and
bullies they pave the way for an- yond the norms of common de- crossing their hands and doing
archy and mayhem to rule the day. cency in what they did. squats. The woman officer re-
sponsible for this punishment is
Is this what was intended by their We understand that cars were a disgrace to the police force and
mindless assault on defenceless vandalised and their occupants is unfit to don the uniform.
citizens? Was it a planned provo- brutalised. Peaceful demonstra-
cation so that an excuse could be tors were tear-gassed and bom- We are shocked that a 17-year old
created to declare a state of emer- barded with water canons. Ap- juvenile who was sitting for her
gency? parently there was no prior warn- examination could be remanded.
ing given to disperse. She should rightly have been re-
The police must surely bear the leased on police bail but, it seems,
consequence of their behaviour: What was beyond comprehension the police were in no mood to
was the fact, as reported, that make a distinction between an
• If there was, as they claim, an some forty citizens who were de- adult and a juvenile.
illegal assembly it was be- tained and locked-up in a police
cause of the unreasonable re- truck “were subjected to three in- We are disturbed to learn that
fusal of the police to grant a cidents of spraying fumes” that those who were injured during
permit to legitimise the gather- affected their eyes and hurt their the arrest were denied medication.
ing. heads badly. They were inhu- There was no compassion shown
• If there was traffic chaos it was manly locked-up for about three nor any concern expressed for the
caused by the police who set hours in the police truck under injuries suffered by the detainees.
up road blocks and prevented “very cramped conditions … with This is indeed shocking.
a free flow of traffic. the flaps brought down” thus
• If innocent people were injured “making it most difficult to We are appalled that some of the
and traumatised it was be- breathe”. detainees were not produced be-
cause of the barbaric behav- fore the magistrate within the
iour of the police. We are outraged that one of the 4 stipulated period as required by
women detained “was asked to the Federal Constitution. We re-
Conduct Unbecoming strip naked at the Kapar Police gret that the court did not take the
Lock-Up and was made to do 10 police to task for this violation of
The police, according to eyewit- “ketuk ketapis” – a form of infan- a fundamental right that is so cru-
nesses, behaved unprofessionally tile punishment meted out to little cial to the notion of rule of law.
and provocatively; their conduct children by some unimaginative
was unbecoming and demeaning. stupid teachers which required We are flabbergasted that 10 law-
They had by all accounts gone be- the children to hold their ears by yers who came to represent the 125

detainees were denied access to There was no reason or justifica- • Were the police right in not
the detainees and were “kept wait- tion to fear that the gathering on 5 ensuring that those injured re-
ing outside the gate of the Port November 2000 would have been ceived prompt medication?
Klang Police Station under the other than peaceful. • Was the woman police officer
blazing hot sun from morning who made a woman detainee
until up to 3.30 pm” after which Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi strip naked and do 10 squats
“only 2 of them were allowed in”. must state whether he condones while holding her ears doing
the conduct of the police force her duty diligently without
It reflects sadly on our system of on 5 November 2000. This is violating the human rights of
justice when the magistrate ulti- very important for us to know the woman detainee? Did her
mately allowed the lawyers only for that will reveal what his per- comtemptible conduct degrade
15 minutes to get their instructions ception of the rule of law is. the dignity of a human being?
from their clients. How this is hu- Datuk Seri Abdullah is not just • How justified were the au-
manly possible for the lawyers to a cabinet minister but a Deputy thorities of Bukit Jalil Stadium
take instructions from 125 detain- Prime Minister who, with a lit- in refusing to rent out the sta-
ees within 15 minutes defies our tle bit of luck, will end up as the dium for a peaceful gathering?
imagination. next Prime Minister of the coun- Were they justified in rejecting
try, unlike his three predeces- a rental of RM30,000 that the
Home Minister Must sors. We want to know whether organisers were reportedly
Take Responsibility his administration will have a ready to fork out. Bukit Jalil
human face and a compassion- Stadium has become a white
For this breakdown in law and for ate heart. elephant and a burden to the
the violation of human rights and taxpayer. Rejecting an income
SUHAKAM
for the detention of peaceful citi- of RM30,000 is not only fool-
Must State Its Stand
zens by the police, we hold the ish and absurd but totally un-
Home Minister entirely responsi- We call upon the Human Rights warranted.
ble for the reprehensible behav- Commission to take a very clear
iour of the police force which and moral stand on this episode. The HRC must address these is-
comes under his Ministry. Human rights activists and peace- sues honestly and courageously
ful citizens would want the Com- and speak up openly on this mat-
He must explain why a police permission to state its position on the ter to deserve our confidence and
mit was not granted for this gath- following: support.
ering. He cannot hide behind
some vague security reasons for • How justified was the police We call upon the Inspector Gen-
this refusal. It is not acceptable. in refusing a police permit for eral of Police to instil in the police
a peaceful gathering on 5 No- force that donning the uniform is
My colleagues and I were vember 2000? not a licence to beat up people and
present and participated in the • Were the constitutional rights behave as thugs and bullies.
peaceful protest against the ISA of some of those detained vio-
in front of the Kamunting Deten- lated when they were not pro- He must immediately discipline
tion Centre on 29 October 2000. duced before a magistrate those who exceeded their author-
The organisers were remarkably within the stipulated time? ity and weed out the unruly ele-
responsible. • Was the cause of justice served ments from the police force.
sufficiently in not permitting
They were superb in their traffic all the 10 lawyers present to Tax-payers who contribute to the
control and ensured that there have access to their clients? maintenance of the police force
was a free flow of traffic at all • Was the magistrate fair to the demand and deserve better treat-
times. There was no obstruction two lawyers representing the ment and respect from them.
and the occasion was amaz- detainees in giving them only
ingly incident-free in spite of the 15 minutes to obtain their in- P. Ramakrishnan
spirited enthusiasm of the par- structions from their 125 cli- President
ticipants. ents? 10 November 2000

Without Exaggeration
Reflections on the “Illegal Gatherings” in the Kelang Valley on
5 November 2000
by D J Muzaffar Tate
et us not make any gathering of thinking us’ - a response which indicates
L bones about it. The
“illegal” gatherings on
Malaysians who are deeply
concerned by the way in which
that the Prime Minister himself
is either not conversant with
the KESAS Highway our fundamental rights as citi- the concept, or has a very dif-
and at other points around zens have been steadily eroded ferent interpretation of it from
Kelang on 5 November were under the Mahathir regime. that of most of us. Other BN
politically motivated and were We did not come to contest the voices have accused the partici-
designed as a protest against will of the majority of the peo- pants of the 5 November gath-
the police refusal to grant a ple as expressed in the last gen- ering as being unpatriotic rab-
permit for the holding of a eral election, but to demand the ble-rousers out to seek their
public rally convened by the restoration of our civic rights - own particular ends.
Barisan Alternatif. In turn, the a matter which should be of
purpose of the rally was to concern to all Malaysians who The Erosion Of
criticize some of the policies of believe in democracy. We did Malaysian Democracy
the Mahathir regime with not come armed with sticks and
which they were not in agree- parangs (machetes); our only However, let the facts speak
ment. weapon was a small round for themselves. Is there any
pink badge with the words truth in the Barisan Alternatif
The right to hold public assem- Kembalikan Hak Rakyat (Restore allegations that civil liberties in
blies and the right to express the People’s Rights) inscribed this country have been stead-
views freely on political mat- upon it, which quite a number ily whittled down to such an
ters are contained in Part Two of us wore. extent that democracy barely
of the Malaysian Constitution. exists here any more? Unfor-
Our protest was against the tunately, the answer is ‘Yes’.
In other words, the 50,000 peo- latest instance of the arbitrary, The evidence is overwhelming.
ple or so (a conservative esti- undemocratic and unconstitu-
mate) who gathered on the tional measures to which the The best and most comprehen-
KESAS Highway and at other Mahathir regime has had re- sive study to date of how de-
points around Kelang were not course in its efforts to curtail mocracy in Malaysia has been
criminals or mobsters out to the expression of political reduced to a sham is contained
disturb the peace, or as Akbar views which differ from its in a book written by Dr. Rais
Ali in a contentious article in own. Yatim, now Minister in the
The Sun (16 November 2000) Prime Minister’s Department
would have us believe, ‘a small The only comment that with a purview on law. Enti-
minority of fanatics’ who ‘can- Mahathir himself had to make tled Freedom and Executive
not seem to accept the will of about this “illegal” gathering Power in Malaysia: A Study of
the people when they lost the was that: `These are the peo- Executive Supremacy (Kuala
majority votes in the last polls’. ple who ask us to follow the Lumpur, Endowment Publica-
rule of law. When we follow tions, 1995), it is a devastating,
To the contrary, we were a the rule of law, they condemn scholarly analysis of the proc-

esses by which the principles able to anybody, including Par- Ibrahim. His trial and convic-
of democratic government as liament. All this has been done tion on charges of abuse of
laid down in the Malaysian in the name of national unity power and sodomy have been
Constitution have been sub- and security, at the expense of regarded by detached legal
stantially undermined. the liberty of the subject and observers as a gross travesty
the rights to freedom of expres- of justice, and have also been
The process goes back as far as sion, assembly and association the source of national outrage,
1957, Merdeka Year, because contained in the Constitution. particularly amongst the Malay
the new (Reid) Constitution it- In consequence, democracy in community.
self contained a number of this country has been largely
loopholes, which have enabled stifled. Rais Yatim, in his study writ-
the Executive (i.e the Prime ten in 1995, summed it all up
Minister and his Cabinet) to get Since 1981 the process of sti- by stating as his conclusion that
round the supposedly absolute fling democracy has been in- ‘while the power of the Execu-
rights of the citizen. We also tensified. Full use has been tive is on the rise by virtue of
inherited from the colonial era made of the draconian powers majority rule and parliamen-
the Emergency Laws (designed which the Executive holds over tary supremacy, the rule of law
to combat Communist insur- individual rights and freedom and human rights deterio-
gency) granting the Executive of expression. This becomes rates...; and that with regard
extensive powers of arbitrary very apparent at election time to the latter their future in
arrest and detention, con- when the government(i.e. Ex- Malaysia ‘is dismal’.
verted into the Internal Secu- ecutive)-dominated media - ra-
rity Act (ISA) of 1960, which, dio and TV and the mainline Of The
as we all know, is still in force. newspapers - provide only ‘Rule Of Law’,
news and views favourable to ‘Human Rights’ and
Furthermore, since 1960, a the ruling party. Moreover, ‘Natural Justice’
number of other repressive since the last general election
Acts of Parliament that infringe we have witnessed the harass- The terms ‘Rule of Law’, ‘Hu-
upon fundamental liberties of ment and demise of a number man Rights’ and ‘Natural Jus-
the citizen have been passed of leading Opposition publica- tice’ become buzz words in any
and made law. Notably, these tions. discussion about democracy
include the Police Act (1967), and democratic principles. All
the Sedition Act (revised 1969), However, the most lethal blow three are frequently used by
the Societies Act (1966), the to democratic institutions has Mahathir either to defend his
Universities and University been the castration of the Ju- policies or to deride his critics.
Colleges Act (1971), the Offi- diciary, the independence of
cial Secrets Act (OSA. 1972), which was designed to protect As for ‘the rule of law’, his
Essential (Security Cases) the rights of the citizen against comments on the 5 November
Regulations (ESCAR.1975), and Executive encroachment. The gatherings (quoted above) are
the Printing Presses and Publi- first major blow in this direc- sufficient to betray either a
cations Act (1984). tion was the deposition of Lord basic misunderstanding or a
President Salleh Abas in 1988 deliberate miscontruing of the
The net result of all this legis- in a manner which created a concept or, at the very least, a
lation has been to place in the major scandal in legal circles all gross oversimplification. Taken
hands of the Executive (i.e. round the world. at face value, ‘the rule of law’
through the Minister who simply means that in the run-
holds the relevant portfolio) The culimination has been seen ning of national affairs the duly
powers to detain, prohibit or in the sad saga of former established law is the supreme
revoke without being account- Deputy Prime Minister Anwar arbiter, and not the arbitrary

whims and fancies of one man have been convicted on the application of the existing law,
or of one particular group of basis of legal technicalities regardless as to whether it is
people. In fact no society can springing from arbitrary pow- just law or not, and human
function without law; the alter- ers, which are essentially un- rights and natural justice, far
native is chaos. democratic and granted to the from being universal, are val-
Minister of Home Affairs by a ues which relate to specific cul-
However, there is a silent, supine majority of members of tures only. This is rather sur-
deeper implication for those of Parliament. Such powers prising for a politician who has
us who believe in democracy. should not exist. The concept identified himself so closely
In a democracy - remember of the rule of law in a demo- with opposing colonialism in
Abraham Lincoln’s classic defi- cratic society does not encom- whatever form it may take, in
nition?: ‘government of the pass legislation which in itself the name of human rights and
people, by the people and for contradicts natural justice. natural justice. It is also rather
the people’ - the ‘rule of law’ strange for the leader of a
does not imply accepting ‘the Within this context, ‘Human country which has struggled to
law’ for its own sake, but ac- Rights’ and ‘Natural Justice’ free itself from the shackles of
cepting law which is just, fair are two concepts which colonialism based on the same
and equitable, and before Mahathir has ridiculed on rationale of human rights and
which all citizens are equal. In many an occasion and which, natural justice.
a democracy, the law must be he suggests, are creations of
just, or else there can be no the West. In other words, al- So What?
democracy but only tyranny. though both terms, which are
quite self-explanatory, would In this connection, Rais, look-
Unfortunately, standing alone, appear to apply to all human ing at the other side of the coin,
the term ‘rule of law’ does not society and are so perceived by comments in his book on the
explicitly indicate what kind of the United Nations itself, for ‘seemingly calm and patronis-
law we are dealing with. This him they are not universal since ing attitude of the Malaysian
is why the constitutions (i.e. each society has its own set of people in facing and accepting
fundamental laws) of most values. these excesses vis-a-vis their
democratic states contain spe- rights...in a country that prides
cial articles or provisions which On one occasion in Parliament itself in being democratic and
define the principles upon (as quoted by Rais) when pre- leading the voice of liberation
which law that is just must be senting the Constitution in third world countries.’ He
based. As already mentioned, Amendment Act of 1988 (which ascribes this to the culture of
in the Malaysian Constitution made significant changes af- fear that ‘has set in’. He also
they are provided for in Part fecting the liberty of the sub- speaks of the ‘bland “antidote”
II, and cover no less than ject and the independence of given by the government ...
twelve basic freedoms guaran- the Judiciary), Mahathir de- that so long as progress and
teeing the rights of the indi- clared - ‘Is their [i.e. that of development are brought to
vidual citizen. Western judges] natural justice the rakyat, other matters are to
more in priority than our own be regarded as secondary’.
If this be the case, laws in a de- laws? What is this natural jus-
mocracy which are unjust must tice? What is so “natural” He adds: ‘Malaysians are ex-
contravene the spirit if not the about the justice that is admin- pected to look, listen and fol-
letter of the Constitution and istered by the courts in the low. If one wants to lead, one
thereby themselves are inher- West?’ has to join the ruling elite. The
ently “illegal”. It will be noted good life, the benefits of the
that in Malaysia Anwar Thus, for Mahathir, the rule of present economic boom (i.e. in
Ibrahim - and many others - law appears merely to mean the the early 1990s) which are gen-

erously represented by busi-
ness opportunities, state aids,
welfare allocations and even
work opportunities are sadly
missing in the lives of those
who choose to be democratic
and oppose the ruling elite.’
Looking at the odds, Rais, as

we have seen, was pessimistic
about the prospects for
Malaysian democracy, and so,
apparently has since decided to
adopt the philosophy that ‘if
you can’t beat them, join them’.
But the fact that at least 50,000
people (who must represent
many hundred thousands
more who could not come)
gathered on that Sunday after-
noon in early November be-
cause they were concerned
enough and brave enough to
protest against the loss of their
civic rights, may be taken as a
sign that we, as a nation, are
becoming alive to our rights
and responsibilities as citizens
after all. q

REFORMASI
Driving For Democracy

Reformasi “takes over” the Kesas Highway
by Anil Netto
Four lanes of traffic inching along

– and then, motionless. Hundreds
of people had already got out of
their cars and were walking along
the side of the highway; so we got
down to take a look at what was
happening. Many of them were
looking down from the side of the
highway near Shah Alam at the
road below us near a large EON
office, which led to a junction
down below.
Their landrovers parked at the

junction blocking traffic, police
were stopping vehicles turning left
from the road in front of EON.
When they stopped a vehicle,
someone leaning over from the
highway where we stood yelled,
“ Oi, ta’ada bonus-lah. Bagi dia
masuk.” (“You won’t get a bonus
for this; let them through.”) The
more they turned away traffic, the
more the crowd above heckled
them. Finally, the police, probably
realising the sheer futility of ob-
structing so much traffic, let the
cars pass. The crowd on the high-
way above cheered. It was their
first victory that afternoon.
On the Kesas highway near Shah jalanraya di depan sesak; sila ambil
Alam simpang keluar.” (road congested Above us, a helicopter clattered
3.30 pm, Sunday, 5 Nov 2000 ahead; please take the next exit). helplessly, its pilot probably try-
Thinking to ourselves ‘how sesak ing to guess the size of the crowd.
hen we entered the (congested) can it really be,’ we A group of youth responded by
W Kesas highway that af-
ternoon, we noticed the
drove ahead anyway. Minutes
later – wham! we found ourselves
defiantly waving their party ban-
warning lights above the in the biggest traffic jam we had Continued on page 31
highway flashing “keadaan ever seen.

BA Lunas

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

BA Lunas

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

BA Lunas

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

PP3739/12/2000 ISSN 0127 - 5127 / RM3.

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 1

A New Era Begins

Unlike other by-elections, the by-

The victory of the BA candidate is

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 2

Lunas, Kesas and Kamunting

ALIRAN is a Reform Movement dedicated to

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 3

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 4

Apart from the issues involved,

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 5

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 6

Lies from the Mainstream Media

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 7

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 8

A Branch Of The PM's Dept?

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 9

Back to the Speaker’s logic.

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 10

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 11

For this, the politicians are to be

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 12

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 13

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 14

When the Bowman Papers did the “Improper behaviour” — Rais

Surely a picture paints but a The CJ would rule in favour of the

But ten thousand words or even When people in high places

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 15

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 16

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 17

Subscription 1 year AIR RM Aliran

COUNTRY ONE YEAR TWO YEARS

This gift subscription is paid for and presented by:

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 18

And now they’re clamouring for

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 19

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 20

• 701 schools in Sarawak are

Q Q Q Q Q If only the PM would consult the

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 21

A huge crowd protested

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 22

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 23

There is hardly any media cover-

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 24

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 25

It is most unfortunate that the po-

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 26

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 27

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 28

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 29

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 30

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 31

No matter that most of the

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 32

It was a psychological victory

Aliran Monthly 20(9) Page 33

When the keepers of the peace