Malaysia Matters Podcast

Datuk Ahmad Ismail, who heads the Bukit Bendera Umno, allegedly made a gaff last week during the run up to the by-election that is still being felt. 

Ahmed is reported to have said that “the Chinese were mere squatters or temporary residents of the nation and therefore, it was impossible to achieve equal rights amongst races in the country.”

Naturally, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and Gerakan are quite upset over this. 

As it is, the idea is being floated that Gerakan should withdraw from BN. Whether it would join Pakatan Rakyat, stand alone, or dissolve, it’s loss to BN, though a relatively small portion of the coalition, would still provide fodder for Anwar and PKR with which to tear at the government.

In the midst of great effort to stave off the momentum behind Anwar’s resurgance of power and the the very real possibility that Anwar may be able to make good on his promise to topple the government, Umno cannot afford ridiculous mistakes that only serve to fracture Barisan Nasional.

Anwar Ibrahim has shown himself again to be more radical than freedom-loving individuals should be comfortable with him being. For instance, he railed against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s Islam Hadhari project, saying, ”There is only one Islam,” and that Islam Hadhari implies that there is a “bad Islam.” The conclusion is that Islam Hadhari should be scrapped.

While there may be one true faith, there are any varieties of expressions of Islam, many of which are highly intolerant. Islam Hadhari, though admittedly flawed in practice, at least has been an attempt to moderate those who would otherwise trample the rights of others. An honest discussion of the issue would recognize this.

What blueprint for acceptance of minority rights and civil society does Anwar propose?

It is easy to tear down what others have had the imagination to build, but doing so is not in itself the hallmark of a leader.

A leader through example inspires others on to achieve greatness.

But what inspiration to achieve greatness does Anwar give the people of Malaysia?

Truly, what does his example inspire?

Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) will hold an assembly this Friday to formally announce their backing of Anwar Ibrahim’s bid to return to parliament in elections coming at the end of this month. 

The PAS spiritual leader of the Islamic Party, PAS, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat pledged last weekend to stand behind Anwar, choosing to overlook the unresolved criminal charges and crediting his faith in Anwar’s experience. 

PAS, one of the three parties in Anwar’s Pakatan Rakyat opposition coalition has conservative elements that tend to push for greater closeness with the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) because of a shared Malay/Muslim interests. That said, being in on the ground floor with Anwar’s opposition coalition could reap greater benefits for PAS in the long run in the form of appointments to offices of influence.

This, of course, is good news for Anwar. Without PAS as a coalition partner, Anwar couldn’t hope to pull off his grand plan to take over the government next month. But although PAS is downplaying its strong Islamic viewpoint, it bears remembering that, should the scheme work, upon victory, Anwar will be heavily indebted to PAS, who most certainly will expect that favor to be returned.

At that point it will be very interesting to see what impact pro-Sharia law PAS officials have on already fragile minority rights in Malaysia. 

 

As reported yesterday, Anwar’s well-anticipated trial on sodomy charges is moving forward with the next scheduled court date to be the 10th of September. Interest in available evidence mounts.

State-run Bernama news agency reports (but offers no details) that the police are investigating the “Statutory Declaration By Dr. Osman”  - That is, Dr Mohamad Osman Abdul Hamid, the physician who first examined Saiful Bukhari Azlan. It is also the same doctor who’s leaked report indicated no evidence for the alleged rape.  Osman claims no involvement in the leak.

The statutory declaration, dated Aug 1 and published by the Malaysia Today website, contains among other things, assertions that Dr Mohamad Osman is standing by his findings that he did not see any abnormalities when he examined Mohamad Saiful on June 28.

The plot thickens with allegations of police wrongdoing:

Dr Mohamed Osman said that some time in early July, he was visited by an officer from the Brickfields district police’s criminal division, ASP Rosmi Mat Derus, who interviewed him about the medical examination on Mohd Saiful.

He said ASP Rosmi recorded the statement in in his own handwriting in Bahasa Malaysia.

The following week the same officer returned with a typed statement in Bahasa Malaysia for him to read and sign.

However, he said certain facts that were not discussed in the previous meeting had been introduced in the typed statement, namely Anwar’s name.

Dr Mohamed Osman claimed Anwar’s name was never brought up during the first interview and Mohd Saiful also never confided to him about the identity of the alleged perpetrator.

“About a week later I was visited by a plainclothes police officer by the name of DSP Choo from the criminal division of the Jalan Hang Tuah district police, who impressed on me that I would be charged if I refused to cooperate with the police,” he added.

Dr Mohamed Osman said he then decided to flee the country with his family as he feared for his and their safety.

Sound fishy to you?

 

Malaysia is assisting the Philippines in brokering a deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to create a semi-independent Muslim state to be carved out of Mindanao.

A truce between the government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front was to be signed on Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur, but a temporary restraining order filed by Filipino Catholics concerned about details and ramifications of the deal was accepted by the Supreme Court who will determine the validity of claims on August 15. In conjunction with the diplomatic standstill, there were reports of a mortar attack outside the town of Midsayap in the disputed area, with blame being directed towards MILF.

The insurrection has lasted about thirty years and the government of the Philipines has negotiated with the MILF over the course of the last ten years.

The agreement on Tuesday will give the Moros autonomy over eight provinces, with its own banking, legal and education systems, a civil service and an internal security force.

The prime minister’s department says the deal will give the MILF the homeland it has waged a civil war to achieve since 1978.

Parties hope that with stability on Mindanao, the natural resources there may beckon foreign investors and provide a boost for the Philippine economy. 

The government promises that there will be proper constitutional process and plebiscite before areas are handed over to Moro authority as Christian Filipinos on Mindanao are very concerned about their future. 

Because of the real chance that inequity may cause a backlash, we hope that Malaysian influence helps inspire both parties to lay the foundation for a lasting peace.

 

After posting bond following Wednesday night’s stay in jail and arrest by “20 balaclava-clad police commandos,” the latest headline in opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s ongoing scandal is his refusal to give police a DNA sample. He also has refused to be photographed by the police. ”They have seen all my private parts. Of course I refused to be photographed, it could be on YouTube very soon!”

Anwar has said the allegations made by Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, a 23-year-old former aide, are a government conspiracy to prevent him from seizing power after March elections where the opposition made major gains.

Anwar’s popularity as an underdog is running high in spite (or because) of being charged with sodomy for a second time. -Malaysia still has anti-sodomy laws on the books dating back to British colonial times that allow for caning and up to 20 years of jail time for acts of sodomy - even if both parties consent.

In the corresponding intrigue surrounding Anwar’s rival, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, we await the next revelation to peculate up regarding accusation of his involvement in the death and mutilation of Shaariibuugiin Altantuyaa. (Murder is a capitol offense in Malaysia) 

And then of course Mr Balasubramaniam Perumal, the private detective that originally accused Najib, is still missing, along with his family. 

There is plenty more dirt to be dug up and flung before the next rainy season hits and it all turns to mud. That much at least is certain.

But while the headlines capture our attention, the real story here is the stratification of Malaysian society that is providing the undercurrents of support both for, and against Anwar.

Battlelines are drawn along ethnic division and for all of Malaysia’s attributes and potential greatness, it seems to lack an effective republican check that would ensure a protection of individuals and minorities - whether those minorities be ethnic, economic, or religious.

And so Malaysia is at a crossroads. Andy Mukherjee on bloomberg.com goes so far as to say that:

Malaysia ought to serve as a statutory warning to fast- growing Asian nations about the pointlessness of chasing the dream of Western-style prosperity while failing to build strong democratic institutions. It’s wishful thinking that the latter would miraculously appear when a threshold level of per-capita income is crossed.

The bottom line?

Without a broad conviction in respect for individual freedom, the institutions to guarantee the same, and effective leadership to accomplish this, Malaysian democracy threatens to continue rubbing itself raw.

As problems continue to compound regarding food inflation and supply, one might think that a greater part of Malaysian reporting would revolve around such an issue. But scandal is the order of the day and seemingly the topic most often presented to Malaysia’s electorate.  

Amidst the announcement today from  Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi  that he would step down in 2010, accusations against his successor of conflict of interest, sex, and murder continue to dominate media coverage.  

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and friends today refuted accusations of any involvement with the disappearance of the detective who had implicated him as allegedly having had a sexual relationship with a brutally murdered Mongolian woman. One of Najib’s top political aides is on trial for the murder, along with two state bodyguards. The detective and his family were reported to the police as missing this past Saturday.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has himself been accused of sodomy - (again.)  But Farish A. Noor has an interesting take on this; suggesting that Anwar might benefit as his support will be further fueled if there is a  perception that he is getting railroaded as they felt he did the last time he was accused of this.

Should the investigation on Anwar give any signs of bias this time round, many analysts expect the public’s dissatisfaction with the Barisan-led government to increase rather than decrease, thereby adding to Anwar’s popularity and appeal to the masses.

But in one other crucial respect, this latest development also carries a negative note to it in the sense that it has returned Malaysian society back to the older mode of personalised politics where the cult of leadership and political heroes are paramount. For decades Malaysian politics has been configured and defined by strong leaders whose dominant personalities ruled over the land and whose figures loomed large over the Malaysian landscape. The elections of March 2008 offered the faint promise that after decades of sectarian race-based politics, Malaysia’s political culture may have finally evolved beyond personality cults and hero-worship.

Now that Anwar is back in the limelight and grabbing the headlines for all the wrong reasons, it would appear as if the movement for change is once again forced to address the plight of a single leader – at a time when the country is facing the challenge of an economic slowdown and when international financial agencies like Morgan Stanley has indicated that some RM330 billion (US 90 Billion) has been dissipated from Malaysia through corruption. Malaysians seem to relish scandals and controversy to no end, but many Malaysians are also asking whether such scandals are a convenient way to distract the public’s attention from the harder real issues of daily governance and Malaysia’s economic survival in the future. For now, however, Anwar’s plight will ensure that the dominant theme of Malaysian politics will return to the narrative of heroes and martyrs, temporarily at least.

Crazy stuff. All that we need now is a blue dress thrown in the mix so that an American audience can relate to this madness as well.

Apropos of the Melaka posts of late, there is a truly outstanding piece in the Wall Street Journal Asia on the difficulties of historic preservation in that eminently historic town. You can only read it as a PDF — scroll to page 11 — but it is well worth your time.

It’s not often that one gets to meet a head of state, and it’s even more rare to have a substantive conversation with him. Less common than either is to have the head of state make you breakfast afterward. On Sunday morning, I had the privilege of doing all three with Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi.

The purpose of our meeting with the Prime Minister was to spend a few moments alone with him, and ask him whatever it pleased us to ask. I’ll let my colleague Jerome Armstrong speak for his end of things, which he has already done quite well. For my part, I was interested in the PM’s thoughts on the concept of Islam Hadhari, which we’ve written on here previously. (Unfortunately, no recording was allowed, and verbatim transcripts are beyond my ken — but I can give approximate quotes. The photos here are original.)

As we’re here in Kuala Lumpur to attend the Third International Conference on the Muslim World and the West, inquiring about Islam Hadhari seemed particularly apropos: as a model for the Islamic approach to state and society, it has much to recommend it when set against its competitors within the Muslim world. By way of prefacing my question, I mentioned Badawi’s 2005 remarks in New Zealand, and he affirmed that this was an accurate expression of his aspirations for Islam Hadhari. He then went on to say — and was insistent upon my understanding — that Islam Hadhari is not a theological affair, but purely civil and societal. I wondered whether this was for my benefit, or whatever Malaysian audience his comments might reach. (Indeed, Malaysia Matters does, judging from site traffic, have a meaningful Malaysian readership.) It is, according to him, a necessary precondition for the maintenance of Malaysia as a state that is simultaneously Islamic and pluralistic: no mean feat, as history and current events show.

On the whole, as one might expect, Islam Hadhari as presented by the Prime Minister in our conversation — and as evidenced in his governance — appears quite benign and even constructive. Certainly, in my own travels in the Muslim world, ranging from Turkey to Jordan to east Africa, Malaysia strikes me as the most appealing from a Western perspective. With a nearly free press, an active democratic life, and a striking plurality of ethnicities and faiths (upon which we’ll be writing more shortly), it has none of the depressing and artificial ethnic uniformity of the Turkish and Arab lands, and vastly better governance than any of the African states. Though there is a long tradition of pundits and public figures getting quite wrong impressions from personal meetings with genial foreign leaders, I will go out on a limb here and state that Abdullah Badawi struck me as not merely saying the right things, but as sincerely believing and acting upon them. Though there is plenty to criticize about him and his country — see my colleague Jonathan Wynne-Jones’s report in the Daily Telegraph for one rather notable example, or this — but the gap between both and their peers is nonetheless so large that it seems, to the un-objective observer, somewhat ungracious to dwell upon it.

And then he made me breakfast.

More striking than anything the Prime Minister said in our brief exchange was his behavior afterward. The Prime Ministerial residence outside of Kuala Lumpur is quite a bit more modest than one would expect — more in the style of a well-heeled gated villa in Miami-Dade than the southeast Asian palace of my own imagination — and it is well-appointed and cozy inside, with a decor of leatherbound books, Malaysian hardwoods, and various animals that the Prime Minister, a sporting man, has killed over the years. (He is rather proud of the latter: upon taking our leave, he made sure to grab my arm, point toward a magnificent pheasant in a glass case, and say, “I shot that!”) Adjacent to his office is a sort of library and reception room, to which we media types retired upon the conclusion of our PM time. We expected to eat breakfast with Badawi’s communications man, and then retreat to the warren of concrete and causeways that is Kuala Lumpur.

Off to the side of the room was a large table upon which were arrayed many bowls of Malay spices, and, to my confusion, a large tureen of ordinary porridge. What to do? “Let me show you,” said someone behind me, and I turned to see the Prime Minister reaching for the empty bowl in my hands. “You will not regret this,” he said, “This is my breakfast — a Malay breakfast.” He scooped a large serving of porridge into my bowl, and then proceeded to add heaping servings of the adjacent spices. “Roasted garlic,” he said, and then named the rest in Malay: a potpourri of green herbs, burgundy nuts, brilliant red chilis, and more. He stopped at the chilis, and shot me a look — “Do you want these?” Yes, I said. “You should not take on too much,” he announced, and gave me the tiniest serving. Finally, he squeezed a lime over it all, handed me the bowl, and told me to mix it up.

I did, trying not to look dubious. I took a bite of the multihued, Malay-spiced porridge. It was the most delicious breakfast dish I have ever tasted. “Malay breakfast!” exclaimed the smiling Prime Minister. The rush to replicate the concoction began, and my own breakfast was delayed as I assisted several media members in creating their own Prime Ministerial porridge.

What’s the purpose in relating anecdotes like these? Some do it because it illustrates to others their casual closeness to the holders of power, but I like to think that Calvin would remind me that I get served breakfast by a head of state through grace rather than merit. In that light, it’s useful as a humanizing corrective to the usual media scrum that surrounds public figures. Whatever one thinks of Dato’ Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi, know that as a man he is kind and approachable — and he makes a fantastic porridge.