Asia Times: Amid political heat, Mahathir seeks to undercut critics



	March 03, 1999	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

Amid political heat, Mahathir seeks to undercut critics
By Anil Netto

PENANG, Malaysia - The government of Malaysian PrimeMinister Mahathir Mohamad is taking more and more political heat -and responding by moving to stifle views critical of it.

This is behind a spate of actions seeking to undercut opencriticism, ranging from the non-renewal of the professorialcontract of a government critic to threats of lawsuits againstmedia and opposition politicians.

Said media analyst Dr Mustafa Anuar: ''It's an indication ofdesperation. They are feeling the heat."

Indeed, nearly six months after Mahathir sacked his deputy,Anwar Ibrahim, in what critics call a bid to cut off an ambitiousbid for power by his former protege, the episode continues totransfix the country.

Now, critics say the government, in power since 1981, is unableto put back into the bottle the forces unleashed by Anwar'sdetention and trial on charges of corruption and abuse of power.

Mahathir's latest headache came in the admission by theformer police chief, Rahim Noor, that he indeed beat Anwar on thefirst night in detention in September.

The revelation was nothing short of astounding in a countrywhere public protests or dissatisfaction rarely produces tangibleresults.

On Tuesday, two police officers testified to a special panel of inquiry that they had had to hold Noorback to prevent him from continuing to assault a blindfolded andhogtied Anwar in his cell.

Public accountability has perhaps never been tested as sorelyas it has been in the whole Anwar episode.

Now, apart from Anwar, critics are asking whether Noor wasacting on orders - he denied it Tuesday - and whether Mahathir knew of the beatingsearlier. He was home minister at the time of the assault.

Noor's admission could not have come at a worse time forMahathir, whose ruling Barisan Nasional coalition is battling theopposition in state elections in Sabah on March 12-13.

But as pressure mounts on Mahathir, the government has reactedby moving against views critical of it and the premier's allies,analysts say.

Last week, Chandra Muzaffar, a political scientist andpresident of the Malaysia-based International Movement for a JustWorld, was told his contract as professor at the University ofMalaya near the capital, was not going to be renewed.

Chandra, a close associate of Anwar and a prominent figure inthe ''reformasi'' movement, was told of the decision in a letter hegot five days before his contract lapsed Feb. 28.

''It should be obvious to anyone that the real reason for thenon-renewal of my contact is political,'' he said in a statement.''I know that the ruling elite is uncomfortable with myuncompromising criticism of its sordid abuse of power in theAnwar crisis."

He added that the some government leaders have not taken kindlyto his role as acting vice president of the Social JusticeMovement, or ADIL, launched by Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah WanIsmail, who has hinted she might challenge Mahathir for aparliament seat in his own constituency.

On Feb. 17, Mahathir had said that some university lecturerswere deliberately sowing seeds of hatred and anger against thegovernment among students.

In recent weeks, the government has also sent an unmistakablyclear message frowning on reportage by the international media.

In a Jan. 9 circular to state education department directors,the education ministry's director general described the FarEastern Economic Review, Asiaweek and the International HeraldTribune as being overzealous in their criticism of Malaysia.

The ministry itself has stopped subscribing to the threepublications.

An opposition party newsletter and other critical local publicationshave also rankled the government. Last month, the government saidit would take legal action against media organizations andopposition politicians who slander the nation's leaders.

''We are scrutinizing media reports and speeches of oppositionpoliticians which have been widely circulated in the form ofcassette tapes,'' Deputy Minister Ibrahim Ali of the primeminister's department was quoted as saying.

''The time has come for us to act to hold them responsible forallegations which smack of slander,'' he added. ''I'm also warningthe newspapers, particularly opposition party-owned tabloids, tobe extra careful from now."

This month, Mahathir's son filed a U.S.$39.5 milliondefamation suit against the Malaysian printers of the Asian WallStreet Journal over an article that outlined his career and notedhow his ascent was aided by Malaysian companies and banks.

The ruling party, United Malays National Organization, has alsoannounced it is forming a panel of lawyers to sue those makingbaseless allegations in media.

In a country where damages sought in defamation suits run intomillions of ringgit, the move has unnerved political and socialactivists who have been critical of the government in theirpublications and media statements.

But while critics admit to being alarmed by moves to curbdissent, they say they can still turn to the Internet as a toolfor disseminating alternative views.

Besides, they say developments in the issue of Anwar's beatingshow that despite political constraints, sustained public pressuredoes make a difference in shedding light on matters long offlimits to the public.

There remains, however, much to work for. Away from thenewspaper headlines, another court case involving 126 Malaysianscharged with ''illegal assembly'' - for taking part inreformasi demonstrations - plods along almost unnoticed.

They are out on bail pending the outcome of the trial. Most ofthe detainees arrested claimed they were beaten, slapped, punchedand/or kicked by the police.

Rights groups are also calling for another independentcommission to probe abuses of police powers.

''The beating of detainees also confirmed the seriousness ofpolice violence in the country,'' said Tian Chua, coordinator ofthe Coalition for Peoples Democracy, which links oppositionparties and rights groups.

(Inter Press Service)

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