SEDIKIT TIDAK MENGAPA KERANA IA LEBIH BERMAKNA

Bilangan reformis yang agak sedikit itu tampak mengecewakan pejuang reformasi. Tetapi ketiadaan huru-hara atau tangkapan pada hari itu sudahpun mampu membuat mereka tersenyum seketika untuk mengubat sedikit duka. Tulisan ini sekadar ingin mengusik mereka yang tiada punya apa-apa kejantanan dalam diri mereka kerana begitu takut sedangkan tiada apa-apa. Tiada apa-apa sehingga pihak konspirator terasa hampa dan sukar menyembunyikan muka yang tercalar kerana aman dan damainya suasana tanpa bom atau roket bersimpang siur dimana-mana.

POLIS DAN REFORMIS TIDAK KETEMU APA YANG DICARI?

Pak cik juga berada di situ. Begitu juga dengan anak-anak dan cucu. Terasa rindu walaupun sudah bertemu acap kali. Terpaksa menemui doktor terlebih dahulu untuk mengambil preskripsi kerana bimbang uzur pakcik menganggu teman di hari itu. Syukur pada tuhan pak cik mampu berdiri bersama anak dan cucu di hari bersejarah ini.

Rasanya sudah lama tidak bertemu sebegini. Kerap-kali kita bertemu tetapi pak cik sengaja tidak merakamkan apa-apa buat cucu yang tidak dapat pergi kerana apa yang tercatat oleh teman sudah memadai. Tetapi kali ini pak cik cukup kecewa kerana ia begitu berkurangan sekali. Oleh itu pak cik menulis sesuatu di sini untuk merakam apa yang terpapar tetapi tidak ketemu kerana tersilap mencari.

Sudah tentu ramai pihak mencari sesuatu di sini untuk dibawa pulang nanti. Yang berkamera pastinya mempunyai filem untuk dicuci. Manakala yang bergari dan berbelantan mencari peluang untuk mengizinkan tindakkan. Namun ia tidak menjelma pula di hari ini walaupun teruk diramalkan oleh pak menteri.

Pakcik tidak pernah tertangkap barang sekali dalam perhimpunan seperti ini. Mungkin pak cik tampak tidak berguna untuk dikasari. Adalah sekali pak cik tertangkap ketika tidak disedari waktu muda-muda dulu - itupun ketika keseorangan diri atas arahan pak menteri. Tetapi dilepaskan sahaja kerana tiada apa pun yang dapat dicari. Lagipun senjata pakcik tersimpan nun jauh di dalam hati hinggalah ke hari ini.

SESUATU YANG TERCARI DISINI

Kami ke situ bukan hanya kerana tujuh cucu kami diserkap terburu-buru sehingga memanda menteri dalam negeri pun tidak tahu-menahu. Tetapi kerana banyak lagi cucu kami yang tidak mahu ambil tahu sedangkan lirik lagu pun dapat dihafal satu-persatu. Mudah-mudahan kehadiran pak cik dapat membantu walaupun tidak mampu berlari pantas seandainya diburu. Pak cik mencatatnya di sini - mudah-mudahan akan terbukalah pintu hati yang sebegitu degil selama ini untuk menghadirkan diri.

Seperti biasa ramai kenalan pak cik turut hadir termasuk cicit yang sebegitu kecil sekali. Ada yang berpayungkan panas mentari tegak berdiri walaupun teduhan bisa dicari. Malah ada banyak ruang lepak untuk merebahkan diri. Tetapi itu mereka tidak perduli - kerana bukan itu yang dicari untuk tiba di sini.

PICU SENJATA TIDAK TERPETIK DI HARI INI

Entah mengapa terasa bahagia di sini. Terasa sejuk di hati walaupun panas teriknya mentari. Terasa rapat bagai sejagat walaupun tidak mengenali diri. Itu termasuk yang berpakaian seragam dan yang bertopi. Mereka duduk jauh di bawah teduhan pepohon atau truk sambil melemparkan senyum buat pak cik di sini. Tidak perlu bertegang kerana mereka pun tahu tiada apa yang akan terjadi kerana tuduhan pak menteri memang tidak berpijakpun di alam realiti. Lagipun, mereka sudahpun pasti - orang seperti pak cik tidak akan mampu berlari - apatah lagi untuk mengigit mereka yang lengkap bersenjata api.

TETAPI PICU HATI BEGITU TERUSIK SEKALI

Maka bertanyalah pakcik seorang diri. Mengapa tidak ditangkap sahaja pak cik yang tidak punya apa-apa ini? Bukankah itu arahan yang tersiar di peti radio dan tv? Mengapa terkaku dan tidak mampu bertindak sebagaimana riuhnya gertak terkini? Apakah yang telah mengunci senjata mu yang amat canggih lagi buas itu?

Kalaulah diselidik pasti akan terjumpa siapakah pak cik yang menulis selama ini kerana kita pernah ketemu satu ketika dulu. Cuma pak cik tidak menegur dulu jika tidak - pasti yang bertopeng akan bingkas datang untuk memburu. Memang seorang patriot harus meneliti riak lawan dan bertindak dengan hemah dan bijak agar musuh tertewas oleh diri mereka sendiri.

DI MANA SEBENARNYA KAMI BERTEMPUR HARI INI?

Pak cik cukup kecewa dengan kenyataan melulu - apatah lagi yang mengikut rentak dari mahligai yang berpuaka itu. Maafkan pak cik kerana bersikap begitu. Kami di sini bukan untuk bertempur atau beradu kekuatan tenaga sebagaimana yang asyik dipaparkan. Tetapi kami bertempur di satu alam yang tidak akan mencederakan sedikit pun tubuh badan kerana kami menyentuh apa yang terpendam di dalam. Bukankah itu INTAN yang jauh terpendam di dalam al Quran yang akan menerangi setiap pelusuk alam. Bukannya kekuatan luaran - tetapi kekuatan dalaman yang terserlah dalam budi dan hemat di setiap perhimpunan.

Buktinya - pihak berkuasa tidak mampu berbuat apa-apa kerana kami memang tidak melakukan apa-apa yang mencemar keselamatan walaupun arahan sudah dikeluarkan. Padahal polis boleh bertindak senang di hari itu kerana mereka mampu mengepung setiap penjuru untuk memberkas satu persatu. Tetapi ada sesuatu di dalam diri mereka tidak mahu itu berlaku - kerana ia sudah tertewas dan terpaku oleh kehadiran sesuatu yang hebat di situ. Malah lebih hebat dari semua sebelum itu. Kami tidak memerlukan bilangan yang ramai untuk menang - inilah mesej yang terpendam yang sukar dilupakan.

Hari ini pak cik senang hati kerana sudah terjawab beberapa teka dan teki mainan pak menteri tanpa perlu kita menjerit beramai-ramai membukti. Itulah tanda perhimpunan sudah berjaya walaupun bilangannya berkurang sekali. Kerana kita empunya kualiti. Ia sudah tersemat jauh di dalam diri untuk membuat musuh terpaku sendiri.

-Wartawan Pencen-
17/04/2001

Rencana imbauan:

The South China Morning Post, HK
16th April 2001

Protest small comfort for Anwar camp

ANALYSIS by IAN STEWART in Sydney

The incident-free gathering of supporters of Anwar Ibrahim, the jailed former deputy prime minister, in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday was neither the huge turnout members of the opposition had hoped for nor the violent demonstration the Government had said it might become.

So, while its peaceful outcome was widely welcomed, the event - called despite police warnings against any illegal assembly to mark the second anniversary of Anwar's sentencing on corruption charges - carried some political implications for both sides.

The relatively small attendance of Anwar supporters highlighted again the aversion of most Malaysians to confrontational street politics. Although pro-Anwar Web sites called on people to show up in force to support opposition leaders presenting a memorandum on human rights abuses to the Malaysian Human Rights Commission, no more than 2,000 people did. Many were just onlookers.

On September 20, 1998, the day of Anwar's arrest, more than 30,000 people gathered at the National Mosque to hear him denounce the Government. In the months that followed, the number of Malaysians prepared to take to the streets to call for his release steadily dwindled from several thousand to several hundred.

Saturday's event also showed that leaders of Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS), the largest opposition party, are more attuned to popular feeling than some members of the National Justice Party (Keadilan), the political arm of the Anwar camp. Keadilan figures have talked of "toppling" Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad through public pressure rather than the political process.

Last week, Nik Aziz Mat, Chief Minister of PAS-controlled Kelantan State and spiritual adviser to the party, expressed opposition to large street protests.

"Such demonstrations are against the system of parliamentary democracy," he said.

On Saturday, the police, who had riot squads equipped with tear gas and water cannon on hand, won approval for letting the event go ahead.

But the Government was expected to suffer further damage to its image over the arrest of seven opposition figures earlier in the week under the draconian Internal Security Act.

Lim Kit Siang, leader of the opposition Democratic Action Party, said yesterday the peaceful end to Saturday's gathering showed that there was no basis to detain the seven.

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar meanwhile repeated the Government's assertion that Anwar's supporters had tried to enlist Indonesian activists to stage violent protests aimed at toppling it, AFP reported.

The arrest and two trials of Anwar, who claims he is the victim of a political conspiracy, turned many Malaysians against the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), the dominant government party, and its coalition partners. But it benefited the opposition, especially PAS.

The fundamentalist Islamic party can be expected to capitalise on the latest developments at its regular meetings throughout the country, where Mr Aziz and party president Fadzil Noor regularly draw crowds in the tens of thousands. PAS has been making steady inroads in the former Umno constituency without resorting to street politics.

http://www.scmp.com

The Asian Wall Street Journal
16th April 2001

Malaysians Stage Peaceful Protests
In Observance of Anwar's Conviction

By CRIS PRYSTAY
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

KUALA LUMPUR -- About 2,000 opposition supporters braved threats of arrest over the weekend to stage a peaceful demonstration marking the second anniversary of the conviction of deposed Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and to protest the arrest last week of opposition activists.

Demonstrators on Saturday held signs that read "free all political prisoners" and "no to ISA" -- a reference to the country's Internal Security Act -- as they sat on the hot pavement in front of the Malaysian Human Rights Commission. The protesters cheered as opposition leaders, led by Azizah Ismail, Datuk Seri Anwar's wife and head of the opposition National Justice Party, filed inside to present human-rights commissioners with a memorandum calling for freedom of speech and assembly, investigations into corruption and cronyism and the abolishment of the ISA, which allows for arrest and detention without trial.

Seven opposition activists were arrested under the Internal Security Act last week in an effort to head off Saturday's demonstration. The detainees were accused of forming a "cell" to gather arms and organize a series of demonstrations to topple Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's government. The chief of police warned last week that more arrests would come. Opposition parties deny the charge of militancy, and maintain that peaceful public assemblies are a legitimate political activity guaranteed by the country's constitution.

'We Showed the People'

Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, vice president of Keadilan, or the National Justice Party, said Saturday's gathering "gave lie to the government propaganda against us. They said we were planning to turn it into a violent affair, that we were planning on bringing Molotov c##ktails." He added: "It repudiates the reasons given for the arrest of the seven. They said these reformasi individuals were planning violence. I think we showed the people today there could not have been any such thing."

Fearing violence, rally organizers distributed leaflets ahead of the demonstration urging people to keep calm, disperse quickly once the rally was over and to guard against "incidents which would then be blamed upon the opposition."

A rally held last year to commemorate Datuk Seri Anwar's conviction ended violently when police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse a crowd of about 500. About 50 were later charged with illegal assembly.

Government officials issued warnings Friday telling Malaysians to stay away from the rally, and by 8:30 a.m. Saturday about 11 riot squad and police personnel carriers, plus numerous police cars and vans, were positioned at three points along the road in front of the human-rights commission. A police spokesman said a force of 1,000 personnel was deployed to cover the rally.

But demonstrators say they weren't put off by the show of force. "I want to come here to demand justice," said Mai, a 23-year university student dressed in a heavy black tunic and a Muslim headscarf. "I'm not scared of anything."

Repeat Performance

Last week's arrests mark the first time the ISA has been used to detain political activists here since 1998, when police used the law to arrest 30 people, including Datuk Seri Anwar, at reformasi demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur.

Datuk Seri Anwar was fired in 1998 and later convicted on corruption and s###my charges he insists were part of a conspiracy to extinguish any political challenge to his former mentor, Dr. Mahathir.

Lawyers for the seven detainees said they would file writs with the court on Monday to challenge the arrests.

Write to Cris Prystay at cris.prystay@awsj.com

http://interactive.wsj.com/

http://news.catcha.com/my/content.phtml?1&010&&afpnews.cgi&cat=malaysia&stor y0415010622.oe4t68mb.txt

15 Apr 2001

ISA arrests to boost opposition but Mahathir seen as still secure

KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 (AFP) - Malaysia's clampdown on pro-Anwar activists is likely to swell support for the opposition but Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's grip on his ruling party is still strong, analysts said.

Police last week arrested seven supporters of jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim to try to derail a protest Saturday marking "Black 14" -- the second anniversary of the sentencing of Mahathir's former heir apparent.

Amnesty International and local lawyers and rights groups strongly criticised the arrests under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows indefinite detention without trial. Mahathir was unrepentant.

Asked how Malaysia's image would be affected, he retorted: "The foreign media will bash at us. They have never said anything good about us even if we are very nice.

"They can go and fry their faces."

Mahathir, 75, has been in power since 1981. But his United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) suffered a big erosion of support in November 1999 polls, over Anwar's treatment and other issues.

The charismatic Anwar was convicted of abuse of power and s###my and jailed for a total of 15 years. He says Mahathir orchestrated a conspiracy to frame him to eliminate a political threat, a charge the premier denies.

Despite murmurings of dissent in recent months, diplomats and other analysts told AFP Mahathir faced no major threat within UMNO.

They questioned whether he really intended to step down before the next elections in 2004, as he vowed back in 1999.

"Leaders like Mahathir don't have a retirement plan," said one diplomat. "The reality is, he will stay as long as he can.

"His main problems are health and the economy rather than the party (UMNO), which is a materialistic party rather than an ideological one."

"The diplomat described UMNO's operations as "like a food chain ... there is underlying resentment towards Mahathir but (members) don't express it publicly because they don't want to be cut out of the food chain."

Mahathir justified the ISA arrests as a police action and not a political clampdown.

He said police had evidence that activists planned to use explosives and weapons in violent protests to topple his government. The opposition has challenged authorities to provide such proof.

"There's always a proportion of gullible people who buy such arguments (on planned violent protests)," the diplomat said.

"Increasingly people are not -- they are frustrated and increasingly resentful and that's a major problem for Mahathir.

"The momentum of opposition is still there."

Another diplomat noted that despite police warnings, opposition supporters risked arrest by attending Saturday's gathering.

But he said Mahathir appeared unconcerned by the hostile response to the use of the ISA. "His main concern was to make sure there were no disturbances."

The diplomat said no UMNO elections were imminent. "There is no mechanism to push him out unless he wants to retire. There are no signs that he is looking to retire."

Mohammad Agus Yusoff, a political science lecturer at National University of Malaysia, criticised what he called UMNO's "coercive measures to silence the opposition.

"It must (instead) address its own weaknesses. Opposition parties have been more effective in convincing the people."

But Mohammad Agus said Mahathir's position in UMNO is not under threat.

"There is definite dissatisfaction but the top ranks who gain economic benefits want him to continue even after 2004.

"Lower ranks think he's no longer relevant ... but most UMNO members can't find anyone suitable to replace him as yet."

Mohammad Agus said Mahathir's current designated successor, Deputy Premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, faced potential rivals in the party.

"Pak Lah (nickname) does not practice patronage politics. It is hard for him to garner support."

Michael Yeoh, head of the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute, said the arrests could increase support for the Keadilan opposition party led by Anwar's wife.

"They could get more sympathy votes. People in general may still have doubts about what the government is saying but the business community will support the government because they want stability."

_________

http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/dowjones/story/0,2619,593611400-GEN,00.ht ml

15 April 2001
Dow Jones Newswires

Malaysia's Opposition Mulls Next Moves After Arrests

KUALA LUMPUR (AP)--When Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad recently threatened his political foes with "the full force of Malaysian laws," few predicted that authorities would employ one of the most potent - but heavily condemned -weapons in their arsenal.

Surprise has turned to outrage, as seven anti-government activists arrested over the past week face indefinite detention without trial under a law last used against the opposition in September 1998, a month of mammoth rallies after Mahathir fired his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim.

Now, with Asia's longest-serving ruler exactly three months away from a full 20 years in power, his critics seem to sense that street protests would only earn them more of Mahathir's ire. The fight to free the opposition's men will instead be waged in the country's Parliament and its courts.

"The spirit of the law is on our side," Bahirah Tajul Ariff, a member of the opposition National Justice Party, insisted Sunday. She claims she hasn't seen or heard from her husband Ezam Mohamad Noor, the party's youth leader, since police arrested him under the Internal Security Act Tuesday.

Authorities say that Ezam and the other detainees belong to a 20-man cabal which held a dozen meetings earlier this year to plot violent anti-government protests. According to national police chief Norian Mai, the activists hoped to corrall 50,000 people to mark the second anniversary of Anwar's conviction of corruption, which fell on Saturday.

Bahirah and opposition lawyers are scheduled to appear in the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Monday to fight the detention, which they insist is undemocratic and a breach of human rights. They are challenging police to prove all accusations, and some senior opposition leaders have even pledged to disown the detainees if authorities are right.

If the lawyers succeed in convincing the judge, authorities could be forced to release the detainees immediately or bring them to trial. Bahirah says the odds of that happening are slim, but claims that pursuing legal avenues is their safest and most logical option for now.

Police Prefer Prevention Over Proof

Police, meanwhile, have said that prevention was more important to them than offering proof. Authorities claim the arrests managed to deter many would-be violent demonstrators Saturday, as only 1,500 people gathered peacefully outside the office of Malaysia's human rights commission to protest Anwar's prison sentences totaling 15 years for corruption and s###my. The arrests might have sparked some sympathy for the constantly embattled opposition. But Mahathir's position seems as secure as ever, and his latest comments indicate a belief that most Malaysians would endorse a clampdown on the opposition for the greater good of the country.

"I am sure Malaysians want to live in peace and harmony with each other without being disrupted by anti-government activities," the 75-year-old premier said Saturday.

But opposition leaders can't afford to lose the men who have been arrested, several of whom are considered their brightest young officials. Opposition lawmakers have submitted an urgent appeal to debate the issue in Parliament on Monday, during which they hope to pass a motion aimed at condemning the arrests and pressuring police to free the detainees.

Again, this is unlikely to occur, since Mahathir's ruling National Front coalition dominates four-fifths of the legislative body. Indeed, many government lawmakers have so far come out in support of the arrests, which police warn could continue since several other unidentified suspects are not yet in custody.

For now, there are no fears of a truly massive crackdown like Mahathir's Operasi Lalang - or "Weeding Operation" - in 1987, when 119 opposition leaders and social activists were arrested under the Internal Security Act. But the opposition is fuming that more than a decade after that happened, Mahathir would still resort to a law dating from the British colonial era.

"Mahathir should stop his politics of desperation," said Democratic Action Party Chairman Lim Kit Siang, one of those detained in 1987. "It would reflect badly not only on him and the National Front government, but also on Malaysia's international standing and reputation."