The UMNO-Led BN Govt Gone MAD... ...

The WALL STREET JOURNAL

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RUNNING SCARED IN MALAYSIA...

by

John Malott
(Mr. Malott was the United States ambassador to Malaysia from 1995-98)

The Malaysian government has pulled out all the stops to prevent an opposition rally this weekend.

This week, army units conducted crowd control exercises with banners that said, "Disperse or we will shoot!" The police set up roadblocks and arrested Malaysians simply for wearing yellow T-shirts, the signature color of Bersih, a coalition of 62 nongovernmental organizations that demands changes in Malaysia's electoral system.

To date, the police have arrested over 250 supporters of Bersih, claiming that they are "waging war against the king."

Then something unprecedented happened. Malaysia's King Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, allegedly the target of Bersih's campaign, intervened. He called on both Prime Minister Najib Razak and Bersih to resolve their differences in a spirit of harmony and cooperation, for the good of the nation.

There was a collective sigh of relief in Malaysia.

The leader of Bersih, Ambiga Sreenevasan, an attorney and former president of the Malaysian Bar Council, met with the king and announced that the "Walk for Democracy," as it was called, was cancelled. She said that she was ready to meet with the government to discuss Bersih's concerns about electoral fairness.

Prime Minister Najib then offered an olive branch, saying, "We are willing to provide a stadium for them to rally in … from morning until night," an offer that Ms. Ambiga and Bersih immediately accepted.

Then Mr. Najib backed off. His government says that because Bersih is still illegal, it cannot apply for a permit. It also has banned Bersih's leadership from entering Kuala Lumpur on the day of the rally.

On Thursday, he joined a gathering of martial artists who said that their 50,000 members will "wage war" against Bersih. Donning their militant uniform, Mr. Najib said, "If there are evil enemies who want to attack the country from within, you, my brothers, will rise to fight them."

Mr. Najib has undermined the authority of the king, who gave Bersih and its concerns credence by meeting with its leadership and calling for a negotiated solution. The political situation in Malaysia is a fast-moving target, and each day brings new developments. Ms. Ambiga and Bersih now say that because of Mr. Najib's actions, they will go ahead with their assembly, no matter

Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. Bersih's main issue is not freedom of assembly but the fairness of Malaysia's democratic process. Bersih's backers ask how anyone can be opposed to free and fair elections.

It's an easy question to answer. The United Malays National Organization, of which Mr. Najib is president, is the longest continuing ruling party in the world, and it is running scared.

In the last general election in 2008, Malaysia's opposition took 47% of the popular vote. That year Parti Keadilan Rakyat, the party of Mr. Najib's nemesis Anwar Ibrahim, went from one seat to 31. The establishment parties in Malaysia's neighboring states are also in retreat. The opposition scored a major victory in Thailand last weekend, and in Singapore opposition candidates made surprising gains. No wonder Mr. Najib and company are worried.

Many observers of Malaysian politics believe that electoral reform will lead to the ruling party's defeat, and that is why UMNO is afraid of Bersih. In the last election in 2008, the party received only one-third of the nation's votes. UMNO rules only because of its coalition with other political parties, which it increasingly marginalizes, that represent the Chinese and Indian minorities.

Mr. Najib and his allies say that the opposition's gains in 2008 prove that Malaysia's elections are free and fair. Impartial observers disagree. Academic studies have enumerated how the Election Commission gerrymanders electoral districts to benefit the ruling party.

The U.S. Department of State's human rights report bluntly states that opposition parties are unable to compete on equal terms with the governing coalition because of restrictions on campaigning and freedom of assembly and association.

"News of the opposition," the U.S. says, is "tightly restricted and reported in a biased fashion."

In the recent state elections in Sarawak, the government announced $390 million in local projects during the run-up to the polls. Prime Minister Najib was caught on video tape telling one village gathering that the government would give them 5 million ringgit ($1.5 million) for a local project on Monday, but only if they elected his candidate on Sunday.

Who would win elections in Malaysia that truly are free and fair?

The U.S. State Department reports that despite the many election irregularities during the 2008 elections, "most observers concluded they did not substantially alter the results."

But unless the electoral reforms that Bersih is calling for are made, we will never know.

Despite the government's intimidation, thousands of Malaysian citizens of all races and religions are expected to exercise their constitutional right to assemble and call for free and fair elections.

Tomorrow's protest represents a brave step in what not just Malaysians but also the international community should hope will begin the country's transition to full democracy.

Mr. Najib should display his own courage and ensure that a peaceful rally that seeks the fundamental rights of democratic peoples everywhere does not turn into a bloody confrontation.

RELATED ARTICLES

• Faced with mounting pressure that a rally will be held this weekend, the Public Services Department (PSD) has issued a circular barring civil servants from participating in an illegal assembly or any movement which may hurt the security of the nation.
  
  The letter dated June 30 and signed by the PSD director-general, Abu Bakar Abdullah, did not name which rally.Three are planned for this weekend, organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0), Perkasa and Umno Youth.Read here for more
  
  
• Khairy Jamaluddin accused the city police today of reigniting tensions over the Bersih rally by getting a court order barring him and 90 others from entering the city on Saturday.
  
  The Umno Youth chief arrived home from a volunteer mission to Gaza this evening to find himself “outlawed from the city he lives in.”“Instead of working on a solution they have taken the solution away,” the Rembau MP said of the court order that denies Bersih’s hopes of holding its rally in Stadium Merdeka.
  
  “The situation is in limbo. Nobody knows what is next,” he said, adding that the Umno Youth leadership would meet tomorrow morning to discuss its options.Earlier today, Khairy had posted on micro-blogging site Twitter that he has “just landed back in KL after trying to break Israeli blockade of Gaza only to find that I’ve been blockaded from KL. Excuse me if I say WTF?” Read here for more
  
  
• The police have placed a restriction order on 91 individuals, including organisers of the Bersih 2.0, Perkasa and Umno Youth's Patriot rallies. The order is to stop any of the 91 from being present at several spots in Kuala Lumpur on July 9.
  "This means that anyone (on the list) caught present at these areas will be arrested on sight," said the city deputy police chief Amar Singh.
  
  Full list of 91 individuals
  
  Perkasa
  
  Ibrahim Ali
  Rahman bin Abu Bakar
  Syed Hassan Syed Ali
  Irawah Fahmi Ideris
  Roslan Kassim
  Sharifuddin Abd Hamid
  Dr Zubir Harun
  Ameir Hassan
  Ahmad Saad
  Ahmad Zaini Ismail
  Muhammad Zaid Md Arip
  Abdullah Mansor
  Zaira Jaafar
  Norkhaila Jamaludin
  
  Pemuda Umno
  
  Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar
  Megat Firdouz Megat Junid
  Reezal Merican Naina Merican
  Megat Zulkarnaian Omardin
  Rizalman Mokhtar
  Tengku Azman Tengku Zainol Abidin
  Lokman Noor Adam
  Abdul Azeez Rahim
  Ungku Saleh Ungku Jamal
  Arman Azha Abu Hanifa
  Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz
  
  Bersih
  
  Ambiga Sreenevasan
  Mohamad Sabu
  Hishamuddin Md Rais
  Khairul Anwar Ahmad Zainuddin
  Maria Chin Abdullah
  Chua Tian Chang
  Kamarulzaman Mohamad
  Dr Mohd Hatta Md Ramli
  Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud
  Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh
  Teresa Kok
  Badrul Hisha Shaharin
  Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin
  Arutchelvam Subramaniam
  Wong Chin Huat
  Ong Boon Keong
  Enalini Elumalai
  Haris Fathillah Sathiasingam Mohd Ibrahim
  Khalid Yunus
  Zulkifli Noordin
  Dr Zubir Harun
  Abd Hadi Awang
  Anwar Ibrahim
  Lim Kit Siang
  Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat
  Nurul Izzah Anwar
  Kohila Yanasekaran
  Zaid Kamaruddin
  Khoo Teng Swee
  Fadiah Nadwa Fikri
  Yap Swee Seng
  Salahuddin Ayub
  Mahfuz Omar
  Nasarudin Hasan
  Mazlan Aliman
  Dr Syed Azman Syed Nawawi
  Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad
  Dr Mujahid Yusof
  Khalid Abd Samad
  Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin
  Azman Shapawi Abd Rani
  Suhaizan Kaiat
  Nor Azli Musa
  Mohd Firdaus Jaafar
  Loke Siew Fook
  Lau Wen San
  Mohd Azmin Ali
  Mat Shuhaimi Shafie
  Satipul Bahari Amamt
  Wan Hassan Mohd Ramli
  Mohamad Izzudin Hilmi Mohd Zaini
  Mohd Shazni Munir Mohd Ithnin
  Muhammad Hilman Idham
  Mohd Shukri Che Ab Razab
  Mohd Syukri Kamaruddin
  Ahmad Syazwan Muhammad Hasan
  Choo Chon Kai
  Sarasvathy Muthu
  Soh Sook Hwa
  Nurul Izham Nurul Anuar
  Abd Rahim Osman
  Mohd Sibri Ismail
  Mohd Lukam Muda
  Prof Kamaruddin Kachar
  Mohd Noor Nordin Abdullah