PENANG - Malaysian premier Abdullah Badawi's first 100 days after winning
the general election ended on Tuesday, and the honeymoon is well and truly
over. A mounting sense of disappointment, instead, has enveloped even some of
those who previously held high hopes of reform and a radical new direction for
the country.
The lack of action against corruption is one of the principle factors behind
the disillusionment. True, there has been a decline in obvious crony capitalism
and mega projects following the departure of Mahathir Mohamad last October. But
the fact that the former premier lurks in the background as an "adviser" to
national blue chip firms such as car manufacturer Proton and petroleum
corporation Petronas shows that a break from the past is far from complete.
Before the March 21 general election, the Abdullah Badawi team correctly
identified some of the main grievances against the Mahathir administration that
inspired the reformasi movement from 1998-2001. He zeroed in on
corruption, police brutality and bureaucratic inefficiency in a bid to capture
public support. His measures succeeded beyond his wildest imagination - though
some of the initial euphoria has subsided in the wake of allegations of serious
irregularities on polling day.
To show he was serious about corruption, Abdullah launched a much-publicized,
pre-election crackdown against corrupt, middle-ranking politicians and tycoons
earlier this year. The dragnet fell on a string of little-known personalities,
including a junior cabinet minister and a former tycoon once close to Mahathir.
There was a promise of more to come: the authorities were said to be probing 18
prominent cases.
But after the general election, little was heard of the anti-corruption
crusade, although public seminars, lectures and media coverage on the
importance of transparency and accountability continued.
It would be wrong to say the anti-corruption crusade has come to a grinding
halt altogether. Civil servants and the public these days seem more conscious
that the new administration feels strongly about the need for transparency and
accountability. The fact that people and the media are actually talking about
corruption is a step forward.
But cabinet ministers who have been tainted by allegations of wrongdoing remain
in their positions, and the Anti-Corruption Agency still lacks independence and
the teeth to go after suspects. It is the lack of continuing arrests of
suspected corrupt officials, tycoons and senior politicians that appears to
have disappointed the public the most.
Before the general election, the Abdullah administration also moved to set up a
Royal Commission to look into the operations and management of the police.
Observers felt that the commission was formed to repair the damage to the image
of the police caused by a spate of allegations of police brutality, shootings
of criminal suspects and custodial violence and deaths.
The new commission has been hard at work, going on a road show around the
country to obtain public feedback and hear grievances. But again, the results
have been painfully slow, and activists continue to report fresh complaints of
alleged police abuse of power. Whether public perception of the police has
improved is debatable following a number of criminal cases - the latest a
series of snatch theft cases - reported in the media.
In terms of transparency and press freedom, little has changed. The independent
web portal Malaysiakini.com has had its application to publish a weekly print
edition rejected. Under the existing Printing Presses and Publications Act, the
decision, made by Abdullah, who also serves as the Home Affairs Minister, is
final and cannot be reviewed in court.
When newspapers highlighted the snatch theft cases, they were told that it
could discourage tourists. When a thick smog shrouded Malaysia last week, the
media were reminded that the precise Air Pollution Index figures fell within
the ambit of the Official Secrets Act. The media could only report the quality
of air broadly, as in "good", "average", "unhealthy" and "hazardous" - much to
the chagrin of concerned Malaysians.
In May, critics condemned the use of the feared Internal Security Act (ISA),
which was used to detain without trial Sri Lanka B S A Tahir for alleged
involvement in the international nuclear black market. They said the use of the
ISA was an abuse of power, a "blatant attempt by the government to sidestep
legal procedures".
Tahir was detained for his alleged role in an illegal nuclear arms network run
by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan. The scandal appeared to implicate a
company owned by Abdullah's son, Kamaluddin. The firm had manufactured
centrifuge parts - allegedly ordered by Tahir on behalf of Abdul Qadeer - which
were seized en route to Libya last year.
By detaining him rather than charging him in court, critics said that the
authorities were preventing the full disclosure of Tahir's real links with
Kamaluddin's firm. Abdullah defended the use of the ISA, arguing the case was
"an issue of the security of Malaysia".
Cronyism and nepotism may not be as obvious as before, but cynics point to the
meteoric rise of Abdullah's son-in-law Khairy, who is regarded by some as the
most powerful 28-year-old in the country following his appointment as
Abdullah's principal private secretary. Khairy, an Oxford-trained economist,
later quit this position amid talk that he wielded too much power. However,
some expect him to contest polls for a senior position in the youth wing of the
ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) in September.
One area that Abdullah has not really tackled is the judiciary. Mahathir's
decision to step down last October after 22 years in power diffused some of the
anger that surrounded his administration - particularly over the sacking and
jailing of his then-deputy Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar, whom Amnesty International
regards as a prisoner of conscience, remains behind bars and has been
repeatedly denied bail in the courts. He currently awaits a decision on his
sodomy charge - which he has flatly denied - in the country's highest court,
the Federal Court.
Indeed, there is a sense that little has changed in the judiciary in recent
months. But the surprise appointment of Abdul Malek Ahmad as the new Court of
Appeal president was welcomed even by critics of the administration and offers
hope for judicial independence in the long term. In 2002, Abdul Malek sat on a
panel of Federal Court judges who ruled that the detention without trial of
five opposition activists under the ISA was unlawful.
To Abdullah's credit, despite his lackluster first 100 days, few Malaysians are
pining for a return to the days of Mahathir's authoritarian administration with
its excesses and grandiose projects (though the former premier still retains
respect in some circles). The country's economy, though hardly booming, is
still charting decent growth rates. Abdullah has talked about focussing on
agriculture and low-cost housing. He has stressed the need to build on the
software - the knowledge and skills capacity of Malaysians - to complement the
hardware; the infrastructure already in place.
But for all the talk, many Malaysians are still waiting for drastic reforms
that would enable Malaysia to realize its true potential. Already there is talk
that Abdullah may be challenged in UMNO elections in September, though party
officials are trying to ensure a no-contest for the two top posts of president
and deputy president.
Veteran commentator M G G Pillai has suggested in his latest commentary that
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who once gave Mahathir the fright of his life in the
UMNO presidential polls of 1987 before losing by the narrowest of margins,
might be a possible contender.
If the first 100 days are any indication, Malaysians are unlikely to see any
radical changes in the next few months. The magic behind "the Pak Lah factor"
that refers to Abdullah and which propelled him to a convincing victory in the
March 21 polls, appears to be fading.
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