Asia Times: 'Reformasi' turns from protests to politics



	September 17, 1999	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

'Reformasi' turns from protests to politics
By Anil Netto

PENANG, Malaysia - If it were to be gauged solely by the number of people who still attend its rallies, then the ''reformasi'' movement begun by Anwar Ibrahim a year ago might be considered to be on the wane.

But political analysts say reformasi supporters are still very much around - and that the movement itself has evolved into something bigger. Observers add that what began largely as a pro-Anwar, anti-Mahathir protest has now become a broad-based movement for reform and change.

They also say that though the immediate outrage has subsided, the undercurrents can still be felt beneath the surface of everyday life. To be sure, rallies organized by Anwar supporters no longer draw the same crowds as those held last September, shortly after Anwar's sacking as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister.

On September 20 last year, the pro-Anwar movement reached its climax when more than 50,000 Malaysians flooded Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur to hear Anwar proclaim reformasi and then demand the premier's ouster. It was one of the largest displays of dissent yet in Mahathir's 18-year rule.

Afterwards, thousands marched to the prime minister's residence where they were forced back by riot police. Hours later, however, a special police squad stormed Anwar's house and hauled him into custody. Angry though peaceful crowds filled the streets for months, protesting his sacking and apparent maltreatment while in police custody. Baton-wielding riot police and water cannons dispersed the protesters, at times violently.

These days, such spontaneous protests have all but evaporated. Explained social activist Rajen Devaraj, ''I think the demonstrations were just a symptom of the anger over the way the system operates.'' Devaraj was among the hundreds of protesters arrested for illegal assembly. He was later acquitted along with dozens of others, after a prolonged court battle.

He added, ''There was also the expectation that if people had pushed hard enough, Mahathir would have been forced to resign and UMNO [United Malays National Organization] would have been split.'' That didn't happen. In hindsight, says Devaraj, it looks like UMNO, the dominant party in the ruling coalition, held together well. But then again, so has the reformasi movement, despite the dwindling numbers at its rallies.

''The anger is still there,'' said Devaraj, ''but there are now a lot of avenues [for those who are unhappy] to express themselves.'' Places for expression in the 90s include the Internet. Reformasi Websites are still active - even though the initial frenzy in cyberspace has settled - and the opposition tabloid Harakah continues to be widely read.

Much has changed in the last year, Devaraj explained. Last year, he says, there was no keADILan (the National Justice Party that is led by Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail). Neither was there a united opposition front gearing for a general election. ''There is a tremendous amount of focusing on the election,'' he noted. ''People see the election as the showdown.''

Thus, much of the energy that used to go into street demonstrations is now being absorbed into an emerging opposition alliance that is preparing for the elections. The rallies of this alliance - made up of keADILan, the Democratic Action Party, the Islamic Party and the Malaysian People's Party - have thus far had little difficulty drawing crowds.

Despite ideological differences, these parties appear on the verge of announcing a common opposition manifesto, which would pave the way for what has been called a ''barisan alternatif'', or an alternative front, to challenge the ruling Barisan Nasional, or National Front coalition.

In the last general election, Mahathir's coalition bagged two-thirds of the popular vote to collect five-sixths of the available parliamentary seats, almost blanking out the opposition. This time around, however, analysts expect a more even contest with the Barisan hard-pressed to retain the two-thirds parliamentary majority.

Other analysts even suggest the Barisan Nasional could suffer a shock defeat if the ethnic Malays, who make up half the 22 million population, desert Mahathir's UMNO in droves.

Rustam says part of UMNO's problem is that Mahathir himself seems to be unattuned to - or has even underestimated - the transformation in Malaysian political culture in recent years. ''In the 1960s political framework, which was still heavily suffused with feudal elements with all its attendant old-style patronage syndrome, there was little likelihood that the abrupt sidelining of someone like Anwar by the party leader would precipitate a crisis or any sustained opposition,'' said Rustam A Sani, president-elect of the Malaysian Social Science Association in his address last month.

But these are the 1990s. Influenced by information technology and globalization, Devaraj says political and social culture has changed imperceptibly over the years. ''[T]he [reformasi] movement draws its strength and capacity to endure and even grow from a popular rejection of - a refusal to remain satisfied any longer with and accept - the political approach and styles of communication'' of the feudal past. People, he said, are no longer content to accept a mute politics of deference under the guises of ''respect'' and ''loyalty''.

In Mahathir's favor, however, is the prevailing hesitancy among many Malaysians about change. These Malaysians, who feel they have too much to lose, credit the ruling coalition for the country's relative political stability and inter-ethnic harmony.

Many Malaysians also look favorably at the Barisan Nasional's diverse component parties, which have worked as a cohesive unit in the ruling coalition, in contrast to the disparate, untested opposition parties still trying to cobble together a workable alternative front.

Reformists, meanwhile, argue that the institutions of government have lost their credibility with power increasingly centralized in the executive. They point to curbs on basic rights such as the red tape involved in organizing political gatherings and the arrests of peaceful demonstrators. They criticize the emphasis on privatization and the megaprojects that they say drain the country's resources.

Yet even if the opposition loses badly at the next polls, activists like Devaraj believe reformasi will live on. ''I don't think it will disappear,'' he says. ''People have been become more politically aware and once you become politically aware, I don't think you will go backwards.''

(Inter Press Service)

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