Formerly known as Malaya, a federation of Malay States in the Malayan Peninsula, it was later joined by the Borneo States of Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia (1963). The population consists of almost 60% Malays and other indigenous people, about 30% of Chinese descent, and about 7% of Indian descent.
Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957, and the Alliance, later to become to National Front (Barisan Nasional, or BN) has been in power almost continuously ever since. The BN, like the Alliance before it, is a coalition whose main component parties are each mono-ethnic, and from the beginning the Malay Party, UMNO, has always been the anchor or dominant partner of the coalition.
During the sixties, Malaysia was establishing the foundations of a new nation, and had the added burden of fighting a long-running communist guerrilla problem. The seventies saw solid achievements in important sectors such as agriculture, education and public health services. From there the eighties and nineties were able to work on building a more sophisticated and modern economy based on manufacturing, until Malaysia became one of the “Asian Tigers”. 
Dr Mahathir was largely responsible for this dramatic development, due to both his vision and his drive. But his leadership also had a darker side, because he also initiated and masterminded a systematic erosion of the principle of separation of powers, of democratic processes and of citizens’ fundamental rights, resulting in increasingly overt and widespread abuse of power by the government. A defining moment was reached when Mahathir sacked the Chief Justice in 1988 for clearly untenable reasons, and under his watch the state agencies – judiciary, police, elections commission, anti-corruption agency and others – all lost their independence; in addition, curbs, both overt and subtle were imposed on the media. Neither of the prime ministers since has seriously moved to change any of this.
Under Mahathir’s watch, corruption also became increasingly rampant, and failure to control it has resulted in the earlier economic gains being largely cancelled out, with Malaysia now overtaken by many of its former peers and even inferiors.
There have always been opposition parties in Malaysia, but apart from managing to take control of one or two states for certain periods, they had not generally been much of a force to be reckoned with until a few years ago. The long-standing opposition parties include the Islamic party, PAS, whose traditional support base has been certain parts of the rural Malay heartland, and the Democratic Action Party (DAP), which has long drawn support from middle and lower class urban Chinese. The BN has enjoyed, almost uninterrupted since independence, a two-thirds majority in Parliament, giving them unbridled power, and this they have largely abused.
By the mid-nineties Malaysians were growing increasingly unhappy with Mahathir’s autocratic style, and the continuing support for UMNO/BN was due to people’s expectation that his deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, would be allowed to take over soon. However, those who thrived on the traditional patronage system, with its massive earnings from corruption, were determined that this should not happen, since Anwar was determined to change to a system which was both more modern and progressive, and also based on ethics. 1997 brought the severe economic downturn felt especially harshly in Asia and fighting over the diminished pie intensified; moves to destroy Anwar’s political career were already under way. The ringleaders worked on Mahathir and finally succeeded in getting his cooperation.
Mahathir made a serious miscalculation (unusual for him) and overstepped the limits when he sacked his popular deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, in September 1998, and had him prosecuted and imprisoned on trumped-up charges. This shocking development brought thousands of angry Malaysians out onto the streets to protest, and these scenes were beamed around the world by foreign journalists. People’s outrage was further fuelled by a vicious assault on Anwar on his first night in police custody, leaving him badly injured – this was only known 9 days later when they were obliged to produce him in court. The subsequent trials, which were manifestly unfair, only hardened public opinion. Reformasi (Malaysia) had been born.
As a direct result of people’s reaction to this event, a few months after Anwar’s arrest a new political party was set up, called the National Justice Party, and was headed by Anwar’s wife, Dr Wan Azizah, formerly an eye specialist at a government hospital, but now propelled by events to enter the world of active politics. Her dignity and quiet determination in the face of gross injustice had quickly made her an icon of the Reformasi movement, and her leadership of the party, her serving for more than two terms as an MP and for a while as Leader of the Opposition, earned her admiration and support from Malaysians of all ethnic groups and walks of life, as well as from all over the world.
During the 1999 election, a hastily-formed grouping of opposition parties, including the Justice Party, campaigned as a loose coalition. Although impressive gains were made, it was not enough to break the ruling coalition’s two-thirds majority let alone take over power. With this disappointment, and with Anwar set to be in prison for many years to come (his original total sentence for two charges was 15 years), there was nothing much to sustain its momentum and keep it in tact.
The shocking episode of Anwar’s arrest had another important effect: it sparked the coming of age of a strong and broad-based civil society movement, which has grown exponentially ever since. Not only were new groups and movements formed, but all of them began cooperating on major issues as never before.
Another vital development was the emergence of Internet media – ending the frustrations of all the people who could not stomach the BN propaganda which filled the mainstream media day after day. These Internet media have also provided urgently needed space for frank and thorough discussion and analysis, open to all views.
March 2004 saw another election, and the opposition, still weak, suffered further losses – the Justice Party, in particular, which had been the main focus of BN’s attacks, was almost wiped out, with only Wan Azizah retaining her seat.
Later the same year, Anwar’s long struggle for justice finally bore fruit when he was released on 2 September – exactly 6 years since he had been sacked from his post as Deputy Prime Minister. Soon after this he returned to active politics, playing a leading role in both the Justice Party (now the People’s Justice Party, after a merger with the long-standing People’s Party of Malaysia). He also worked intensively to pull together and strengthen the opposition coalition, now known as the People’s Pact (Pakatan Rakyat, or PR).
In a development well received by a large number of Malaysians, the Justice Party in particular, and the opposition in general, had started a process of radical change, moving from mono-ethnic and often fractious politics to a truly multi-ethnic system. This meant that rather than simply bargaining between the mono-ethnic parties, everyone discussed the issues directly together. The BN was aghast – they had always thrived on divide-and-rule politics.
The other issue which had increasingly angered Malaysians was the burgeoning growth of corruption. It was increasingly realised that most government initiatives were aimed not at benefitting Malaysians or stimulating the national economy but rather at enriching the leaders and their family members and cronies. Literally billions of the people’s hard-earned money , and also the national resources, were ending up in the pockets of the already-rich.
The Malaysian government claims that this country is democratic, citing the standard proof of holding free elections at regular intervals. Free they may be, and almost entirely free of violence, too. However, the electoral process leaves a great deal to be desired in terms of fairness. The electoral roll is badly flawed, there is quite a lot of multiple voting, and postal votes have been widely abused by BN to ensure victory in key constituencies. The BN parties make rampant use of government machinery during campaigns, and monopolise all the mainstream newspapers, TV and radio.
Opposition parties have few rights and are systematically pictured as anti-government, meaning, more or less, traitors to the country. As the opposition has become stronger, the government has stepped up its efforts to obstruct their progress, especially by abusing legal process – finding any excuse to charge top political and civil society leaders in court, if possible putting them out of the way in prison and ensuring that they will be disqualified from contesting in elections for some time to come.
They have employed many other methods of persecution, intimidation and obstruction, including keeping draconian emergency laws on the books (especially for this purpose). These, even if not actually applied, serve as a powerful weapon to instil fear. But at times when their power is threatened they use them freely.
Despite these daunting odds, the opposition PR managed to make a very impressive showing in the 2008 election, finally breaking BN’s precious two-thirds majority in Parliament, and taking control of five (out of thirteen) state legislative assemblies. The people had spoken.
Parliament, which before was devoid of serious debate, is now much more lively, although the Speaker tries to keep it to a minimum, especially on “sensitive” issues. However, the system long put in place gives few rights or privileges to opposition MPs, whether in the House or in their constituencies. The government openly channels most development and other funding to areas where it enjoys support, leaving the opposition-controlled areas to find their own sources of income.
The figure of Anwar Ibrahim looms large in the Malaysian political scene. Although he is now in the opposition, a large number of Malaysians are eagerly anticipating the day when he takes over the premiership. The deal comes with an approach and policies much more in keeping with contemporary universal standards of governance, with strong ethical roots. And of course, it will also be genuinely inclusive and multi-ethnic.
In a last-ditch and increasingly desperate effort to stop this trend in its tracks, the BN has decided on a sequel to the disgraceful affair of 1998: Anwar has once more been charged with committing sodomy. The aim: get him off the streets, into prison for a long, long time.
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