A Funny Thing Happened on my Way to the Trial

These days reformasi seems to be flagging and so it was good news when the Anwar Ibrahim appeal finally kicked off after an earlier postponement in the Federal High Court. On the fifth day, it had to happen – a bomb scare. But the strange thing, going by an FAC News report was that nobody was scared. None of the people already in the courtroom moved, they just stayed put while the many who queued outside and were denied entry because of the scare were sorely disappointed that the trial was adjourned. Everyone obviously knew it was a bomb hoax - except the police. FAC News (March 25) sent in this report:

It seems (someone called) Puspa (one of the Reformists) found an abandoned bag and handed it over to the police. The police suspected that the bag contained the so-called bomb so he was taken in for interrogation. Another person, clearly a joker, added more spice to the story. “Puspa must have seen this person leave the bag and ran after him saying, ‘Hey, you forgot your bag!’ So they took him in for questioning.”

Now that was a funny story indeed and we were almost rolling on the ground laughing. I could visualise this man drop the “bomb” bag and Puspa picking it up and running after him carrying the bag. And if you know the size of this Puspa, you will know he would look hilarious trying to run.

Another journalist, MGG Pillai, had his own story to tell. “Yes, I saw that bag too, and the police were walking round and round it poking it like they were buying vegetables in the market. If it really was a bomb they would have been blown to smithereens, and this whole building with them.”

From the way the trial proceeded (and given its scant attention by the local media), the Prosecution was clearly given a hard time. Among other things, Anwar’s lawyers argued that he did not get a fair trial as he was not allowed to call the witnesses he requested. The judges sought a response from the Prosecution on this crucial point but apparently got no answer (FAC News, March 30, 2002). So, let’s all wait and see whether the Chief Justice and his colleagues will deliver a real bombshell!

Bashing A Strawman!

Rehman Rashid, author of the best-selling Malaysian Journey, did himself a grave disservice by cynically clobbering an already reeling Barisan Alternatif, which has already suffered the loss of the DAP, a couple of by-elections before Ketari, and endured the barbs of Chandra Muzaffar, an erstwhile champion.

In a centerpiece on the editorial page entitled “Reform the Opposition” (New Sunday Times, April 7, 2002), Rehman has rendered in eloquent words what is essentially a deep-seated psychosis of the Malaysian distaste for alternatives. Despite the sophistry of his text, Rehman at bottomline typifies the Malaysian voter. In language which vacillates between a grudging acceptance of the BA’s sincerity of purpose and lambasting its ineffectualness, Rehman avers:

“In trying to duplicate this national political machinery (BN) with parts junked from the original, all the BA could work with was political debris. Even when their leaders (in general as sincere as any and often by force of circumstance more than most) speak moderately and advocate centrism, they can only address the extremes of the electorate.”

The piece is remarkable for its lopsidedness (nothing is said of the BN’s machinations or dishonest use of incumbency and coercive legislation to defeat opponents) and winds up with a garbled non-solution to the poser of finding “a recipe for national political evolution.” Rehman argues for a political evolution in which “a-racialists, pan-religionists, social activists, counter-culturalists, liberal-humanists, middle-class urban intellectuals and all the multifarious others” become something of a third force (not his own words) in politics. Not bad, so far.

But then he goes on to allude vaguely to the emergence of a “three-party system”. My reading is that he assumes that the BN will always remain at the helm and that the second force will always be a disparate Opposition. He hopes for a third force to emerge, which will “presume to offer a genuinely non-communalised foil to the Barisan Nasional’s stewardship of the cherished national ideal of racial consociation”

It’s ahistoric not to recognize that elements of the third force, which Rehman correctly identifies as non-party actors and social activists, were at the forefront of reformasi, which itself gave birth to the BA. These forces of civil society clearly backed reformasi in the hope that the cynical and crony politics of the BN could eventually be dumped. However, the Malaysian voter was not ready for a two-party system, it would seem. When even a two-party system cannot take root, what hope is there for a so-called “three-party system”?

Finally, surely one must recognize that democratic space and latitude is created whenever turnover two-party systems emerge, allowing for citizens who can constitute the middle forces of civil society (a-racialists, social activists, etc…) to play a larger role in political decision-making. Now, this would be the type of political evolution that this writer would like to see materialize – perhaps in the not too distant future?

Fall Guy No. 4

The PM has been at it again, dropping hints about his retirement. So PAS’ Harakah Daily (internet version) did UMNO a favour by holding a poll among its readers to ascertain which of five UMNO leaders is expected to succeed Mahathir. The five were deputy president and current deputy PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and veeps Najib Abdul Razak, Muhyiddin Yassin and Muhammad Muhammad Taib.

The poll saw 3,738 respondents voting as follows: Najib (39.17%), Muhyiddin (18.06%), Abdullah (13.94%), Razaleigh (13.94%), Muhammad (12.01%).

This created quite a stir in UMNO circles but a question was raised about the validity of the Harakah poll. Since no one else would conduct another poll, the PAS party organ obliged again and has come up with some stunning results. When I last checked, the results from a second poll (7,083 pollers at the time of writing) were as follows:

The poll has apparently been taken quite seriously abroad with Singapore’s Straits Times and an Australian paper reporting on it. So, Najib is looking rather pleased these days and definitely setting his sights to be deputy PM No. 5.

Haven’t you noticed the spring with which he struts around these days? Come to think of it, suddenly there seems to be more appearances of the man making speeches, attending public functions, buying military equipment and even shaking hands with robots.

Were the inevitable to happen, it would make Pak Lah Fall Guy No. 4 (before him was Musa, Ghafar and Anwar, remember?) For the Chinese, as we all know, the number “4” is avoided like the plague since it signifies death! So, Najib’s stars may be truly shining but there’s one snag though, the longer the PM hangs around, the greater will be the prospect of even deputy No. 5 biting the dust!

Who Guards the Guardians?

When Muslims put their money in the Pilgrims’ Board Fund or Tabung Haji (TH), it is often regarded as an act of piety. First, they’re indicating their desire to fulfill the fifth tenet of belief, which is to complete a pilgrimage to Mecca in one's lifetime. Second, they know (or so they believed till now) that their money will be safely invested in ‘halal’ ventures and worthy projects in the interest of the Ummah (Islamic community).

It therefore came as a rude shock to the depositors of TH that not only had the Islamic fund frittered away millions of their deposits, it had invested some RM200 million with a dubious fund manager by the name of Metrowangsa Asset Management. Worse, Metro-wangsa had used the funds to speculate on Forex – in a word it ‘gambled’ away the money! The foreign exchange trader concerned was one Ahmad Hassan of Singapore who has now been sued by TH to return RM80 million. However, this means that some RM120 millions of depositors’ money is still in a black hole. The Forex affair came fast on the heels of an incident where some depositors actually had money siphoned from their accounts through an insider!

Several minor heads have rolled in the TH and the PM himself has tried to mollify Muslims by promising that “corrective measures” will be taken. However we know how short the memories of Malaysians are on such matters. Economic scandal after scandal, from Perwaja to MAS, have come and gone but the culprits are still at large. When the guardians of the economy themselves need to be guarded, Malaysians are in for rough times indeed.

Green Lungs for Sale!

A sure indication that Penangites have succumbed totally to ‘developmentalism’ is Penang Turf Club’s announcement that its piece of turf is up for graps. Touted as the primest piece of real estate on the island the 1.8 hectare property will give way to a yet undisclosed development by an Ananda Krishnan, Abdul Rashid Hussain or Goh Choon Lye. Part of it will be used for the Penang Outer Ring Road.

PTC Chairman Ong Eng Khuan remarked that anyone who wants to keep the area as a ‘green lung’ will have to pay for it. Yes sir, we’re paying for it alright, but who will make the big bucks?

What surprised me was the lack of any kind of reaction from the usually feisty Penangites who fought hard to stop Penang Hill from being developed some years ago. Friends of the Earth has made a squeak or two but the civil forces who may have an interest in the issue, including the Penang Heritage Trust, have been silent. It would be wonderful if this ‘green lung’ could be turned into a green State Park, to provide Penangites some respite from the daily pollution and congestion around them. I suppose the willingness of the PTC to give up its property without much of a fight, plus some not-too-gentle persuasion from the Koh Tsu Koon government has put the matter to rest for now.

One wonders if the proposal to move the Turf Club to Batu Kawan on the mainland has anything to do with boosting traffic on the proposed Third Link in that area.

Meanwhile Penangites will wait with bated breath to watch for the springing up of “The Twin Towers of PTC” in a year or two on a spot where they’ve gambled away not just their fortunes but their souls.

Quotable Quirks

“Malaysia is very much like a negara Islam segera (instant Islamic state) just like instant mee and instant curry puffs”.

This celebrated statement by PAS spiritual leader and Kelantan MB Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has truly titillated PAS supporters and is perhaps also surreptitiously enjoyed by all other reformasi supporters. It takes the mickey out of Mahathir’s ‘Islamic state’ pronoucement and put Abdul Hamid Zainal Abidin (government mouthpiece for Islamic matters) at sixes and sevens to respond. Said the hapless Abdul Hamid, “Nik Aziz is not only unclear…he is very ignorant. Malaysia is an Islamic state...based on the facts…” Issh, issh, Abdul, you’ve lost the argument and your marbles too, this time!

Referring to the prospect of receiving a copy of The Star, the Gerakan leader Lim Keng Yaik said he would not ask his wife to buy “toilet paper”.

The hilarious statement arose from the effusive Lim in the backdrop of the Ketari hustings when DAP secretary-general Kerk Kim Hock offered to send him a copy of The Star to verify the issue of Lim’s allegations that Kerk had met with a representative from PAS in Jakarta to form an electoral pact before the 1990 general election. Keng Yaik claimed that he made no such remark and that The Star had misquoted him. Thanks to the Gerakan chief’s insight on the value of local newspapers, we now know how to recycle them in the best fashion!

“There is no Press freedom as often claimed by the West and its Malaysian surrogates. Media freedom is the freedom of its owners to advance their personal, political, class or communal interest”.

This extraordinary piece of diatribe comes from the Group Editor of the New Straits Times no less! On second thoughts, Abdullah Ahmad speaks the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Yes, Dollah we know that all newspapers and other media in Malaysia merely express the wishes, views and predilections of their owners, political masters and communal backers. Thanks for reminding us. This is one more good reason to send a newspaper like the NST straight down the you-know-where (ask Keng Yaik).

D.L. Daun.

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