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Reformasi redux: The Anwar
factor
By Anil Netto
PENANG,
Malaysia - Reformist groups in Malaysia are set to
launch a 30-day nationwide campaign on Saturday to seek
the release of jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim on
April 14.
Anwar, the symbolic leader of
Malaysia's reformasi movement, is serving
consecutive jail terms totaling 15 years for corruption
(six years) and sodomy (nine years). He has maintained
his innocence and claimed that the charges were
fabricated.
The former heir apparent to Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad was convicted of corruption in
April 1999, seven months after he was sacked as deputy
premier in September 1998. He was arrested three weeks
after his sacking and then beaten senseless by the
country's then top police officer, who was later
convicted and sentenced to two months' jail.
Anwar's supporters say he is entitled to a
customary one-third remission for good behavior and
would thus complete his jail term for the first
conviction by April 14. They also complain that the
months he spent in jail before the conviction have not
been taken into account. As his appeal into the
subsequent sodomy conviction has not yet been completed,
they are pressing for his release on bail pending the
appeal outcome.
Anwar's ouster and humiliation -
and especially the black eye inflicted on him - sparked
a groundswell of anger and discontent, unleashing the
reformasi movement, a widespread clamor for
political reforms and change.
The Malaysian
version of Prague Spring, however, appeared to lose
steam in 2001 after key activists were detained and
public rallies banned (though some gatherings, usually
indoor ones, are still tolerated). In the aftermath of
September 11, 2001, ideological differences among
opposition parties set in over whether Malaysia should
be an Islamic state, undermining opposition unity.
Nonetheless, Anwar has kept himself above the fray,
retaining a broad appeal that crosses the divide of the
various opposition parties.
After months of
uncertainty, the courts have fixed two dates for
all-important hearings. Next Tuesday, March 18, the
Federal Court is scheduled to review its earlier
decision relating to the corruption charge. Then on
March 24, Anwar will finally get to proceed with his
appeal against the sodomy conviction.
Saturday's
launch of the 30-day campaign to seek Anwar's release
coincides with the retirement of Malaysia's top judge,
Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah. He will be replaced by Ahmad
Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, who takes over on Monday as
chief justice, a day ahead of the Federal Court review.
Few expect Ahmad Fairuz, who has rapidly risen
up the ranks, to make waves. He was promoted to the
Court of Appeal in 1995, elevated to the Federal Court
in 2000, appointed chief judge of the High Court in
2001, and assumed the post of Court of Appeal president
last December.
In recent years, the judiciary -
especially the conduct of certain judges - has come in
for heavy criticism. In 2000, four prominent
international bodies came up with a report, "Justice in
Jeopardy", which highlighted shortcomings in the
administration of justice. Critics have in the past also
called for a revamp in the process of selection of
judges to make it more transparent.
Meanwhile,
Mahathir is out of the country in March and April on a
two-month vacation "partly to rest". It would mean that
the premier would not be around during what is expected
to be a highly charged two-month period as the court
hearings get under way and Anwar's first jail term comes
to an end.
Mahathir is due to step down in
October after the summit of the Organization of the
Islamic Conference. He had emotionally announced his
decision to quit last June but was "persuaded" to stay
on.
The next elections are due to be held by the
end of 2004, but some analysts expect it to be held much
earlier. Mahathir has said he would not call for a
general election before he steps down, indicating that
his deputy, Abdullah Badawi, would decide the election
date. But that has not stopped tongues wagging about an
early general election.
Abdullah, who is also
home affairs minister and now acting prime minister in
Mahathir's absence, took over the deputy premier's post
after Anwar's ouster. Both Anwar and Abdullah are from
the northern state of Penang and have been traditional
rivals.
The Free Anwar Campaign, citing Anwar's
lawyers, points out that the prisoner in Sungai Buloh
near Kuala Lumpur is wheelchair-bound and needs
assistance to shuffle around. He has a spinal injury,
which could have been aggravated by the assault.
Declining treatment in Malaysia, Anwar prefers to go to
Germany for minimally invasive endoscopic surgery, which
is believed to be less risky.
The court hearings
come at a time when Anwar's National Justice Party
(Keadilan) is set to merge with the left-leaning
Malaysian People's Party (PRM) to form the People's
Justice Party. The merged entity is expected to be led
by Anwar's wife, Keadilan president Wan Azizah Wan
Ismail, with the PRM's Syed Husin Ali as deputy.
The expectation is that the new party will be
seen as more multiethnic, broader-based, and able to
come out of the shadow of its opposition ally, the
conservative Islamic Party, PAS. Critics argue that the
merger is merely a marriage of convenience, as both
parties were going nowhere.
All three parties
remain in a rump alliance after the pullout of a fourth
party, the Chinese-based multi-ethnic Democratic Action
Party (DAP) in September 2001. Though the DAP has
withdrawn, its leaders continue to highlight Anwar's
plight.
Apart from Anwar, Keadilan also sorely
misses its string of second-echelon leaders - all crowd
pullers who have championed the reformasi case.
They were arrested under the harsh Internal Security Act
in April 2001 in a move the Federal Court later
described as having been made in bad faith.
Under the ISA, the victims are usually served
renewable two-year detention orders before the end of
the initial 60-day interrogation period if they are not
released. The first two-year order for the detained
reformasi activists is due to expire by the
middle of this year and there is a separate campaign to
seek their release.
Political workers say Anwar
retains wide support, especially from the Malay
grassroots, and he is far from being a spent political
force. But his absence from the political landscape has
cost Keadilan dearly and some Malays may have gravitated
back to the ruling coalition.
But with the court
hearings and the 30-day campaign coming up, and despite
a virtual media blackout, the government will find it
hard to ignore the prisoner they would much rather
forget.
(©2003 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All
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