• Damage Control
    (16/08/00)

    By Joe Fernandez

    At a closed-door meeting with 2,000 UMNO leaders in Kuala Lumpur last weekend, Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad again warned that they face an increasingly hostile environment. The prime minister earlier held a rare dialogue with government information chiefs on "foreign media coverage of the Anwar verdict and sentiments on the ground".

    Mahathir alleges that opposition activists across a broad spectrum are instigating the people to "hate the government", but offers no remedies nor reasons for the ruling party's mounting political problems on the ground. This has left party leaders with the feeling that events have somehow overtaken them and rendered obsolete the old ways of tackling political issues at the grassroots.

    While Dr Mahathir is referring to the situation in the kampungs, the picture elsewhere is increasingly hostile, as articulated by US State Secretary Madeline Albright's remark in the wake of the     Anwar verdict: "There are lots of things that Dr Mahathir has done that I don't think serve Malaysia well and are not within the spirit of how Asian countries are evolving. There are certain countries where people deserve better and Malaysia is one of them. The country deserves better than its current prime minister Dr Mahathir."

    Deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi echoed his chief: "Umno members cannot just run away from the problem caused by a certain group but must meet with the people and explain the real struggle of the party," he said when briefing the press on the PWTC meet. "Dr Mahathir warned Umno members to be prepared at all times to face whatever challenges and problems are posed by this group."

    Says information minister and Umno secretary-general Tan Sri Khalil Yaakob: "This is most dangerous because when the hatred reaches a certain stage, they would be willing to use any means including the use of weapons to achieve certain things."

    The current situation, admits chief secretary to the government Tan Sri Abdul Halim Ali, would result in disunity among civil servants if left unchecked. "I fear that if political sentiments are allowed free rein and be imbued in civil servants, it will affect their daily duties and professionalism," says Halim. "The situation is all the more alarming with moves by these groups to also use Islam to create discord among civil servants. Religious talks and khutbah were being held with the subtle message to hate the government and its leaders."

    Other subjects being raised in the campaign have been recycled from the charges of corruption, cronyism, collusion and nepotism leveled since September 1998 at the government following the sacking of former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Mention has also been made that the government has issued veiled threats that Anwar may face several more charges for unspecified crimes.

    Whether Umno can turn the hostile environment around before the next general elections, expected in 2004, remains uncertain. Opposition activists led by     Keadilan Youth have pledged a new nationwide movement against Dr Mahathir as part of the Free Anwar campaign coordinated by Raja Petra Kamarudin, a grey-bearded pipe-smoking intellectual, who has equipped himself with a Yamaha Virago because "it is built for the quick exit."

    "I have never seen this kind of tyranny before," said Mohamad Ezam Mohamad Nor, Keadilan Youth leader, on the sidelines of four public demonstrations following the Anwar verdict on Aug 8. "What happened at Anwar's trial clearly proves how cruel a person Mahathir is. The people must rise to fight oppression and leaders who are cruel and evil."

    Adds Lokman Nor Adam, another Keadilan Youth leader: "This [verdict] is a political crime perpetrated by Mahathir. He wants to ensure that Anwar sits in jail and dies there."

    Security officials fear their worst nightmares will be realised should activists zero in on Friday prayers at mosques throughout the country and stage demonstrations. The first of such demonstrations was staged last Friday by a 300-strong crowd outside the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, followed by similar demonstrations outside the Human Rights Commission and the Sungei Buloh prison where Anwar has been incarcerated. The prime minister's official residence, a stone's throw from the Putrajaya mosque, waits like a sitting duck should activists masquerading as Friday worshippers head in that direction to vent their feelings.

    "The blind support is now gone," says M Nasir, protem chairman of the Socialist Party, which is awaiting registration. "People have lost confidence now in our courts, our democracy."

    Adds Lim Guan Eng, national vice-chairman of the Democratic Action Party (    DAP): "Umno will be particularly hard hit by the Anwar factor. I don't see Umno regaining support among the Malays as long as Mahathir is there, particularly among the young. But if Mahathir leaves, then the whole scenario will change."

    That Dr Mahathir is the target of the antipathy has been confirmed by Umno Wanita Chief Datuk Seri Paduka Rafidah Aziz. "Do not leave the country's leader alone in handling the various problems," she urged party members on Sunday in Kangar. "We must also be with him and do our part." Rafidah criticised the "attitude of silence among certain party leaders who want to safeguard their links with groups making wild accusations."


    © 2000 agendaMalaysia