k3p

Thursday March 29

Students paid RM10 to attend PM’s ceramah
Ajinder Kaur

6:55pm, Thu: About 500 students of the Tunku Abdul Rahman (TAR) College in Setapak were given RM10 each by the campus administration to attend Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s meet-the-people session in Gombak yesterday.

One of the students who spoke on condition of anonymity to malaysiakini today said that the college’s Student Affairs Department had called on its students to attend the event.

He said that there were posters on campus urging students to participate. He added that he decided to go to the function after he was encouraged by his friends.

“We were only told that it was a PM’s ceramah (talk). We were not given any other information. On the day of the function, about 500 students gathered at the college grounds.

“Twelve buses then took us to Gombak. During the journey, two staff from the Student Affairs Department distributed sealed brown envelopes with RM10 in it and T-shirts with the prime minister’s photo on it to all the students,” he said.

He added that none of the students enquired about the money and the T-shirts while on board of the buses. Asked if the students were told to wear the T-shirts, he said “no”.

“But I feel that this is some kind of bribery for us to support the government. We are students and are not supposed to be involved in politics. What is the reason for the college to ask us to go to the ceramah?” he said.

Political speech

Yesterday, Mahathir gave a political speech to about 10,000 people at a rally in Kampung Mulia, Km-4, Jalan Gombak.

The event was organised by the Listeners, Viewers and Readers Group established by the Information Ministry to foster rapport between the government and the people.

At the function, Mahathir lambasted the opposition for allegedly seeking to overthrow the government by staging street demonstrations.

“By continuing campaigns right after the 1999 general elections, the opposition is dividing the people, especially by giving their khutbah (sermons) in the mosques to influence the Muslims,” he told the crowd.

He also took PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat to task for visiting former pig farmers in Bukit Pelanduk - the epicentre of the 1999 Nipah virus outbreak - two weeks ago.

He lamented the fact that PAS has refused to work with Umno as the party claims it is working for national unity, not Malay unity.

DIRE STRAITS
Battleweary Mahathir readies for another round
By Anil Netto

On Wednesday, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was invited to strike a large gong three times to mark the launch of a "meet-the-people" session. On his first strike, he sent the gong and its stand reeling backwards on the stage as an amused crowd of thousands looked on.

Perhaps it shouldn't have come as a surprise. Mahathir has always been known to operate with a forceful hand, stamping as he has his domineering personality on Malaysian politics for the past 20 years.

However, in his zest to fix the economy, the premier risks swinging a little too wildly off center with his measures to boost consumer spending and liberalize regulations on equity, property and asset investment by foreigners.

Stung by heavy criticism over alleged bailouts of cronies and complaints that pension funds were being used to prop up ailing firms, Mahathir has struck back in typical style - by launching a national-level meet-the-people program and announcing a raft of measures to soften the impact of the United States economic slowdown.

Another issue that won't go away is that of ailing former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, who has been refused permission to undergo minimally invasive spinal surgery in Germany. Although the government insists the surgery be carried out in Kuala Lumpur, it risks scathing condemnation if Anwar's condition worsens.

To add to the pressure, Mahathir now faces the prospect of another by-election in central Pahang state after a state-assembly member from his United Malays National Organization announced his decision to quit his seat. Fauzi Abdul Rahman dropped the bombshell after lodging a police report against former Pahang chief minister Khalil Yaakob over certain allegations that were not mentioned in the press.

A by-election is the last thing the premier needs after the ruling coalition lost a safe seat it had held since independence in a by-election last November.

But of more immediate concern is the impact of the slowdown in the US economy. Mahathir has announced a 3 billion ringgit (US$790 million) package to stimulate the economy.

To spur consumption, the government has sliced the mandatory monthly salary deductions that private sector employees have to pay to the state-run pension fund from 11 percent to 9 percent of wages.

Civil servants will now be eligible for car loans every five years instead of the present seven years in a bid to increase car sales.

A leading unionist has already expressed concern about the move to encourage spending. "The strategy may be good for business and add to their profit, but it will affect the standard of living of the workers when they retire," pointed out G Rajasekaran, secretary-general of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress. Internet news portal Malaysiakini ran a commentary by a well-known columnist mockingly titled "An American recession, so let's spend".

The pro-establishment daily Star newspaper, meanwhile, carried a poll on its website asking its readers how they would react to the measures to encourage consumption. Out of 2,205 votes cast as of Friday afternoon, only 16 percent said they would spend more, while 53 percent said they would want to save more, with the rest opting to retain the status quo.

Mahathir insists that without these pre-emptive measures, Malaysia's economic growth this year may dip to 4 to 5 percent for this year.

"This is not too bad an achievement, but we are used to high growth and we would like to maintain that,'' he said. With the new measures planned now, Mahathir said the growth rate might reach 6 percent - still below the earlier projection of 7 percent. "Things are quite weak at the moment. The fall in Dow Jones is much more than expected, he said. "This is bound to affect us."

It is a telling admission from the premier that things are not looking rosy. Malaysia's economy is heavily dependent on electronics exports and more critical analysts say that even 6 percent growth for this year is way too optimistic.

The US and Japan are Malaysia's main markets, accounting for nearly 50 percent of total exports and fears are growing that demand for manufactured exports such as computer chips, memory boards and data storage products will slump.

In another blow, Mahathir this week conceded that his pet Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) project has not contributed as much as expected to the country's economic growth, even though it was already ahead in programs to draw interest from investors.

With opposition Islamic party PAS all but rebuffing an invitation by the majority United Malay National Organization (Umno) to hold Malay unity talks, the premier is fast running out of options to shore up waning support for his ruling coalition. What chaffed Umno leaders was the news that PAS' spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat had agreed to hold talks with Chinese pig breeders hit by an epidemic two years ago.

But the premier's survival instincts operate best when his back is against the wall. At the meet-the-people session on Wednesday, he was accompanied by a large crowd and led by musicians of different ethnic groups. He signed several posters of himself for children as he stood on stage while a choir performed. He then toured an exhibition area as Air Force parachutists entertained the 10,000-strong crowd.

After the premier had shared refreshments with village folk, a lion dance troupe led Asia's longest-serving elected leader to his car, with the crowd lining up to shake his hand.

Website Malaysiakini later dampened the mood somewhat when it claimed that a dozen buses had ferried some 500 students from a private college in Kuala Lumpur to the session with the premier. The Malaysiakini report quoted an unnamed student as saying that they were each given 10 ringgit and a T-shirt with Mahathir's picture on it during the journey.

Following the launch of the national-level program, 14 other similar leaders-meet-people rallies will be held in the states starting next month, followed by district-level gatherings nation-wide. A local daily said the program was designed "to heighten awareness on the importance of preserving unity and nurturing tolerance and the spirit of mutual help among multi-racial Malaysians".

The crucial question is whether the premier has the capacity to reinvent himself to live up to the expectations of the Malay masses, many of whom remain upset over the treatment meted out to Anwar. Already there is a sense that it is too late. The disquiet has been aggravated by the widening gap between the rich and the poor in Malaysia as seen in the squalid conditions in squatter settlements on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, the scene of violent clashes earlier this month.

Mahathir may well discover that his latest measures are like wild swings at a gong that do not address the core problems plaguing Malaysian society: ebbing confidence among Malaysians and foreign investors alike due to a lack of meaningful political and economic reforms. That is compounded by what many see as the eroding credibility of the various institutions of government in curbing abuse of power. Many Malaysians are only hoping that the economy will not keel over.

((c)2001 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact content@atimes.com for information on our sales and syndication policies.)

Monday April 2, 2001

By Ferida Abdul Kudhus
ferida@thesundaily.com

PETALING JAYA, Sun: Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad has hit the road to face the people and boldly lock horns with the Opposition almost a year after he made the pledge to reduce ministerial work and concentrate on party matters. The pledge, made at the 54th Umno general assembly last May, was to revive Umno's fortunes and narrow the widening gap between Umno and the Malay masses.

The last 60 days had been a hectic one for Mahathir in his quest to restore Umno's lost pride. His first stop was in Kedah and it was an appropriate one too. Kedah is Mahathir's home state, an important Malay hinterland but also home to a newly energised PAS. Mahathir met Umno grassroots supporters in Alor Star, Baling, Padang Terap, Pokok Sena, Sik and Kuala Nerang and dialogued with middle and state level leaders in a packed two-day schedule last month.

He also answered questions directly posed to him from the people. The message everywhere is to close ranks and work harder to restore the people's trust in Umno. It goes without saying that Baling, Padang Terap, Pokok Sena and Sik are PAS-held parliamentary constituencies, once held by Umno before the 1999 general election.

In Kuala Nerang, the dialogue was cancelled as it was learnt that Mahathir wanted a dialogue with the people. He did not want selected speakers be allowed to ask questions. "Mahathir wanted the dialogue to be frank and open and not controlled," said a Umno leader.

Mahathir's next visit was to Pahang in mid-March where he held closed-door meeting with about 500 Umno members from the Lipis and Raub divisions exhorting a return to the basic values that had made Umno strong and indispensable for the Malays. In his trip to Sabah late last month, apart from Kota Kinabalu and Keningau, Mahathir also visited Tenom, a rural town some 200km from Kota Kinabalu where he spoke before 20,000 people.

Most recently, Mahathir spend a day with Negri Sembilan Umno members especially from the Jempol and Jelebu Umno divisions at a meeting near Bahau on Saturday. In another development, Mahathir spoke to over 10,000 people closer to home on Tuesday at a Listeners, Viewers and Readers Group (K3P) programme organised by the Information Ministry in Gombak.

Like the Semarak movement of the 1980s, K3P is designed to foster closer rapport between the people and the leaders. The meet-the-people sessions has just started and will expand further in the months ahead. The need for such rapprochement with the people, especially with Malays in the villages, has its origins in the Umno general assembly last year where delegates openly said the Umno leadership had lost touch with the rank-and-file party members.

Umno's performance in the last general election showed that the people's support for the party has eroded over a combination of factors but mainly because of a major split in Umno and among Malays following the expulsion of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. The condition of the party deteriorated to the point that during last year's assembly, delegates had openly criticised the party and pointed out its weaknesses.

Responding to these needs, Mahathir had said: "Since there are too much work at the PM's Department, and it interrupts my attention to party matters, I will transfer more work at the PM's level to the deputy prime minister (Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) and the ministers. "That way, I will have more time to focus on party matters, meet more party leaders, visit states and listen to their problems."

Another attempt to bring party members closer to their leaders is by holding supreme council meetings in various states twice a month instead of only once. By doing so, it is hoped that the leaders will have more time to meet the people and announce party and government policies.

Complementing this effort, party secretary-general Tan Sri Khalil Yaakob announced the Umno's programme labelled Bertanya Khabar, early this year. The programme gives party leaders at the middle and lower echelons the opportunity to get explanations on current issues from top leaders.

It will also see the party president visiting Umno divisions to meet the members. Khalil warned that with the programme, there should not be any more inactive branches and branch leaders should realise that attention is also given to them.
Observers said this way, leaders will also be able to know the efforts undertaken by the various party bureaus.

Through the visits, Umno leaders will also be able to go on an onslaught against the Opposition. In his Pendang-visit, Mahathir had explained to the people that the Opposition was making baseless accusations by claiming that Umno is against the Chinese. He said this is an attempt made by the Opposition to win Chinese support in the next general election.

Mahathir was responding to a question on a statement in the Internet quoting PAS president Datuk Fadzil Noor's political secretary Dr Hatta Ramli as saying PAS would go all out to protect the Chinese if Umno oppressed them. In Lipis, Mahathir had said that the Opposition is focusing on the poor and instigating them to protest against the government.

The Opposition, he said, has been focusing on squatter areas by visiting the sick and injured in hospitals. Mahathir is scheduled to visit other states, among which are Perak, Kelantan and Malacca. Larut MP Raja Datuk Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar said Mahathir's move to meet the people directly should be taken as an example by other leaders as it would consolidate and strengthen the party.

Apart from gaining feedback directly from the people, the opportunity could also be used by the leaders to explain current issues directly to the people. "The prime minister's move will spur other leaders to do the same. This is what the people want. "Rural folks not only hope for facilities, but they will also be happier if they could be closer to their leaders ... the Malay culture is such," he said.

While on his visits, the prime minister had never failed to advise the people on the importance of unity, especially in a multi-racial country like Malaysia. In his unscheduled visit to the Old Klang Road, where clashes left six people dead three weeks ago, Mahathir reminded the residents not to be influenced by rumours. Malaysia, he said, is a unique country where various races have lived in peace and harmony since Independence.

Whatever these meet-the-people sessions are called there is a clear need for leaders to go to the people and re-establish faith and convince them they (leaders) are there to do good for the people and the nation. It is easy to lose trust but hard to regain it. Umno and Mahathir have together taken vital steps on this long and winding road. The success or failure will be tested in the next general election in 2004.

Monday April 2

Mahathir deserves immunity
CHIAROSCURO
MGG Pillai

2:33pm, Mon: There is much to commend Dr Mahathir Mohamad for what he did in his 20 years as prime minister. He was an effective voice of the underdogs of the world, held his ground to raise Malaysia's status in the eyes of the world.

He was accepted as a statesman, scarce as they are in recorded history. He would have been regarded thus if he had retired about five years ago. He is not now. Not since how he humiliated and destroyed his then deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim.

He is viewed now as a petty, vindictive politician few, even those in his Umno party and in his cabinet, listen to. He needs to pay for crowds to prove he is still popular as Malaysia's leader. When he visited Gombak last week, it fell flat even if newspapers crowed about the 10,000 who turned up. Malaysiakini reported that TAR College students were paid RM10 each to turn up, and others said of secondary school students similarly paid (Students paid RM10 to attend PM’s ceramah, March 29).

Why should he when he competes with no one. And the big crowds would prove nothing, and does not reflect his relationship with the ground. That is bad for he wants to upstage the crowds the opposition collects. Instead of reacting to it as a statesman, he descends into petty politics and one upmanship. That brings about his worst nightmares.

His statements reflect party politicking than national resilience. He views every action of the opposition and those who disagree with him as enemies of the state. They are not; they cannot be. His reason deserts him, and he loses control. He should not.

His past actions catch up with him. It was he who forced through Parliament and Barisan Nasional-controlled state assemblies constitutional amendments to strip the rulers of their immunity. I was against it then, as I am now of moves to make him accountable for acts of omission and commission, as what happened to Suharto of Indonesia and Estrada of the Philippines.

Blame of the blameless

It is the people who put him there and allowed him to do as he liked who should be blamed. He would have gone as far if he had been checked; now the people want blood but only when they are sure he slips down the greasy pole of power. And over compensates for their impotence by damning the man.

But he as head of government should have immunity, as the head of state. Political correctness, often decided on the spur of the moment, does not make good sense, once the target of ire disappears. Mahathir surely must realise that now. There cannot also be a system, unfortunately, when the King and sultans are bereft of immunity, but not the prime minister.

So if the rulers are denied immunity, it is difficult for him to have it. He is, in other words, caught in an abyss he created. And insist, as in Umno petty-politicking in Kelantan, that the proposed constitutional amendments to bring the state in line with the centre and the other states, is wrong.

It is important its head of state and government not look over their shoulders before acting in the national interest. This includes acts that could put you and me in jail. In the exercise of power, this is inevitable. But Malaysian courts, in the Anwar trial, insist it cannot be. And this haunts Mahathir.

Yes, long years in power evince misuse. But the state has checks and balances, which in Malaysia was systematically destroyed, with few questioning or challenging it. Like the huge defamation awards in the Malaysian courts now haunt authority when ordinary men or women in the street obtain RM100 million and more in defamation damages from government-controlled bodies, like television stations.

In gridlock and apoplexy

What these ill-thought-out actions cause is a gridlock from which escape is well nigh impossible. Normally sensible people froth in apoplexy when it is suggested that we are demeaned when our head of government or state are brought, like common criminals, into court. BN’s, and Umno's, problems worsened in Pahang when the sultan was brought before a special court over a land deal that went sour. The case was dismissed but the bitter after-taste made PAS's entry into the state that much easier.

So it would if the prime minister is made to account for his actions. We must look at a country's history beyond the immediate. What the present situation reveals is that Malaysians sleep-walked through the first half-a-century of its independence, feel guilty about it, and over-compensates. That is wrong. As Mahathir would no doubt agree, he was wrong in the constitutional amendments which took away the rulers' inherent immunities.

When institutions are hacked into irrelevance, the system collapses. Mahathir, in his 20 years in power, has much to answer for that. But he could not have done this without our acquiescence. The rape of the judiciary is well known; that it is now on the path to redemption cannot excuse those judges who by their inaction allowed this to happen. The point about sleep-walking did not affect only one or two sections of society.

Immunity to the head of state and government is too small a price for a nation's well-being. If there must be accounting, it must be of everyone else. The prime minister himself should be immune, but not his family or cabinet: their role as his agents is not the same as the sovereign immunity the PM has for his acts.

One man I respect told me this would redound on the prime minister if it is taken to its logical conclusion. Yes, it would. But that is one Dr Mahathir, and not Prime Minister Mahathir, would have to reflect upon, and expiate as best he can. That becomes then a private tragedy, not a national one. That unfortunately is inevitable.

Spiting the nose

I do not accept the argument that an example must be made of, to prevent others from going the same route. This is spurious. Capital punishment has not prevented people from murdering, nor the absence of it ensures fewer murders. More laws does not mean less crime, nor vice versa. It is an inexorable march through life that determines how one man behaves as another would not.

In the march through history, even leaders of utmost probity fall by the wayside; it does not therefore mean everyone of similar character would. If we strengthen our institutions, are less prone to sleep-walking, and act out our assigned democratic roles, it would be curtailed without having to impose the laws.

What happened in Malaysia is one we are all party to, one for which we are as much to blame for. Punishing the prime minister to make him more accountable does not resolve that blight on our national character.

The immunity must be absolute. How it could be enforced is another matter. What makes it difficult is the government's refusal to discuss such matters of importance informally and reach a common agreement to set matters right. This proposal that Mahathir be called to account is directed at him personally. There are other ways to deal with it without mortgaging our national self-respect. That is why it should be taken no further.

RALLIES TO WHIP UP UNITY?

By Michael Vatikiotis and Lorien Holland
KUALA LUMPUR
Far Eastern Economic Review
Sedition charges against opposition politicians? Senior officials in Malaysia are anxious. They have even taken to making accusations against the foreign media, which, in the view of Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, "is acting as if it is actively taking part in bringing down the government."

Why should the government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad feel so threatened? After all, he retained a two-thirds majority after last year's difficult election, economic growth will be down this year but is still expected to hit 4%, and the opposition is, as ever, divided. Under new rules governing party posts and elections, his party presidency is secure and the next general election doesn't have to be held until 2004.

But Mahathir, who has often acted as if under siege, may now have good reason to do so. Those who work closely with the 75-year-old premier, now Asia's longest-serving elected leader, say that he is impatient and frustrated. He wants to regain the considerable support his party lost in the Malay community after the sacking and arrest of his former deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, in 1998.

"He still sees Anwar as a political problem that needs to be addressed," says a senior member of Mahathir's United Malays National Organization. Thwarting his efforts are a string of costly corporate bailouts that seem beyond his control, rumblings within the party ranks about corruption and abuse of power, and signs that his once-solid Malay support base has already turned to the country's Islamic party for an alternative vision of Malaysia's future.

Sensing vulnerability, an aggressive but ragtag opposition led by former Anwar colleagues is stirring the pot. "We want to maintain the momentum. We have to make sure that Mahathir is not in control," says Mohamad Ezam Mohamad Nor, youth chief of the opposition Keadilan party and former political aide to Anwar.

That won't be easy. In 20 years in power, Mahathir has fought and won many political battles--mostly against ambitious lieutenants jostling for power. The economy, though vulnerable, came through the economic crisis without the need for crutches supplied by the IMF. Foreign debt levels are manageable and Malaysia is considered a responsible creditor in the region. Domestic consumption and investment, economic officials say, is a useful bulwark against the sputtering United States economy. Moreover, Mahathir shows no sign of flagging energy or will.

But party insiders are worried. Aides dispatched to monitor sentiment say they find festering anger towards the leadership. Support is growing for the conservative Islamic party, Pas, and pockets of economic malaise could stoke unrest. The key worry is how all this is affecting Umno's support base in the Malay community. Of primary concern to senior Umno leaders is the resurgence of the Islamic party.

Not since the 1970s has Pas, which seeks to establish an Islamic state in Malaysia, been so popular. A senior Umno official says that Pas, with the claim that a vote for Pas alone will secure a place in heaven, is gnawing away at Umno's claim to represent Malays. Umno membership is based on Malay and Muslim identity.

The issue came to a head recently with a debate over whether political parties could use Islam as a basis of struggle. In the end, Islamic scholars, working with the Malay rulers--the nine sultans who decide on senior nonpolitical appointments--decreed that they could. However, Umno leaders take comfort from an important qualification in the ruling, which was issued by the Fatwa Committee of the National Council for Islamic Affairs: The ruling states that an individual can be deemed Muslim no matter what political organization he supports.

Equally worrying for Umno is that Pas has gained ground among the educated and the middle class. Here Umno is finding it hard to regain support it lost after Anwar's sacking, because of a string of recent corporate manoeuvres that have been perceived as bailouts. Of these, the most damaging involved the civil service's pension fund, which underwrote the listing of a well-connected company and has suffered paper losses of nearly $100 million.

In another case, the government reversed the privatization of the national airline and bought back shares from another well-connected company at a hefty premium to the market rate. At the centre of the maelstrom is Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin. He has already delivered to parliament a lengthy but not entirely convincing defence of the re-purchase of the airline shares. The government has not yet fully explained the pension-fund purchase or commented on the propping-up of the stockmarket. Daim did not respond to an interview request from the REVIEW.

The opposition senses an opportunity here. And despite a concerted effort by the government to restrict the activities of opposition leaders like Ezam, the opposition remains defiant. "We have to be prepared to let people go to the streets if necessary," says Ezam, who is facing sedition charges that could land in him in jail for three years and disqualify him from standing for election.

ECONOMIC DISCONTENT

Don't expect the crowds that took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur in late 1998 and 1999 in the wake of Anwar's arrest. The government's tough security measures have effectively scared off most street protesters. But isolated outbreaks of spontaneous discontent are possible.

Like the rest of Southeast Asia, Malaysia's recovery from the economic crisis has been patchy. There are pockets of severe economic hardship, especially on government land-scheme settlements dependent on commodity prices for crude palm oil, where monthly salaries have fallen as low as 100 ringgit ($26).

Economic suffering was also a factor fuelling recent clashes between Indians and Malays in Kampong Medan, a poor suburb of Kuala Lumpur. The violence left six dead, and though Mahathir has apologized for his administration's failure to address urban poverty, many felt his reaction was too little, too late.

"This government has failed in providing for and taking care of the poor Malaysians," says a lengthy memorandum on the clash which was presented to the government by 51 Malaysian non-governmental organizations. "This we believe is a violation of the social contract and trust placed on the elected government."

For some younger Umno members the only solution is root-and-branch reform in the party to win back the Malay vote. Next month's divisional party elections offer an opportunity to change the old guard, says a younger party member standing for a deputy divisional position.

But party elders worry about the chances of another damaging split in the party, and many of the posts will remain uncontested, despite a tradition of using contests to bring in new blood. Popular concern about corporate bailouts looks to be the government's more immediate popularity problem. Resolving this would mean having to lay the blame squarely on Daim, whose name is most closely connected with the companies concerned.

Daim has stepped out of the political arena before, and managed to retain influence because he is the Umno treasurer. The question on many lips now is whether Daim will once again take some of the heat for his old friend Mahathir and, if he does, whether this will defuse anger sufficiently to allow Umno to start winning back their one-time loyal supporters.