[Semakin Mahathir mendakap kuasa kepada dirinya, sokongan itu semakin pula melarikan diri darinya.... Dia kini sedang berdepan dengan pelabgai masalah kronik yang mungkin tidak akan mampu diselesaikan walaupun dia berkhidmat sampai mati.... Itu semua akan menjerut dirinya sendiri.
- Editor]

Asia Times
18th July 2001

DIRE STRAITS

Mahathir's Ultimate Challenge

By Anil Netto

PENANG, Malaysia - To many, he is Bapa Malaysia Moden (the Father of Modern Malaysia), the man who has almost single-handedly transformed the country's urban infrastructure to rival that of any Western city. To others less enamored with his achievements, he is Mahafiraun (the great pharaoh), the larger-than-life figure responsible for all that has gone wrong in the country.

As Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 75, marked his 20th year in power on July 16, the Malaysia he presides over has changed beyond recognition.

Two current events perhaps sum up the sweeping changes that have transformed the country's landscape since his rise to power in 1981: the first, a protest against a much-feared security law on Sunday (July 15); and the second, a huge dinner on Monday night (July 16) to mark the premier's 20th anniversary in power.

More than a thousand Malaysians converged outside the Kamunting Detention Center in Perak state, north of Kuala Lumpur, on Sunday to protest against the harsh Internal Security Act (ISA). The protesters drove north in a convoy from Kuala Lumpur while others joined a similar convoy heading south from Penang to converge at Kamunting.

It is telling that the crowd were not deterred by at least four police checkpoints along the roads heading to the detention center. Outside the center, police used water cannon on the crowd and then moved in as people fled to hide in village houses nearby. The police then conducted house-to-house checks and rounded up 41 people, almost all ethnic Malay, about a quarter of them women. Four teenagers were freed while 37 others were released on bail the next day.

Mention the word Kamunting in Mahathir's Malaysia and one is likely to be greeted by an awkward cough or an uneasy silence. It's the rehabilitation center for those who have already undergone the grueling initial 60-day interrogation under the ISA, which allows detention without trial.

The ISA is an autocrat's dream legislation, where "Asian values" meet colonial expediency. Based on tough colonial era laws aimed at countering a communist insurgency from 1948-1960, it has been used against unionists, activists, opposition politicians and university students. Six detained reformasi (reform) activists were sent to Kamunting in June to join about 60 others already there on suspicion of various offenses ranging from "spreading deviationist teachings" to "falsifying passports".

Since 1981, power has increasingly been concentrated in the hands of the executive - or to be more specific, in the hands of the prime minister. At various points, the Mahathir administration has clamped down on independent groups that he saw as nuisances or threats: activists, opposition and rival politicians, and the judiciary in 1988; the monarchy in 1993, and finally his own deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, whom he sacked in 1998.

In all this, the ISA has lurked in the background as a handy catch-all law to harness those who are "likely to prejudice national security" and to cow others into silence. But since Anwar's ouster unleashed reformasi in 1998, the majority ethnic Malays - whom Mahathir has scolded as lazy and ungrateful - have been at the forefront of the anti-ISA protests, far outnumbering rights activists.

The other event - the dinner bash on Monday night in the historical city of Malacca - also says a lot about Mahathir's rule. It was the biggest dinner ever hosted in Malaysia, with 25,000 people from all over the state - another entry into Malaysia's already thick book of records. "There will be 2,500 tables with 17 chefs catering to the guests," the speaker of the Malacca state assembly proudly announced. Just for the record, the previous record for a Malaysian dinner attendance was 20,200.

Breaking a record would be an apt way to celebrate 20 years of record-breaking - the world's tallest buildings, a glittering if under-utilized international airport, a futuristic but debt-ridden light-rail transit system in the capital Kuala Lumpur, and the multibillion dollar new administrative capital, Putrajaya, with its prime minister's department complex of Babylonian proportions nestled on a hillock overlooking a man-made lake. There's also the top-selling - and tariff-protected - national car, Proton, with it first Malaysian-designed model, the Waja.

A whole list of impressive records - "So why do the foreigners look only at our human rights record?" quipped a satire group once. Indeed, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists recently named Mahathir among the top 10 enemies of the press for the third straight year.

If it were just those pesky foreigners, Mahathir wouldn't be so worried. But now the locals are making their views heard. And when the once docile university students start protesting, it's definitely cause for concern. In a typical response, the authorities detained two university students under the ISA earlier this month.

With economic growth flattening, the flipside of Mahathir's achievements is looking increasingly stark and his legacy more and more shaky. And this time slogans - there have been many: Bersih, cekap, amanah (clean, efficient, trustworthy), Look East, Malaysia Inc, Leadership by Example, Cintai IT (Love Information Technology), Vision 2020 - are unlikely to help.

For all Mahathir's anti-Western rhetoric, the economy remains heavily dependent on foreign investment, especially in the electronics sector. It leaves Malaysia vulnerable to the US economic slowdown - with or without a ringgit currency peg. Lack of affordable housing means hundreds of thousands continue to live in unsightly urban slums and squatter areas that are tucked out of sight. In rural areas, many schools lack sufficient furniture, a proper library and even electricity.

The gap between the rich and poor has widened, fueling discontent, especially among ethnic Malays peeved at the official policy of creating a few Malay billionaires to join the ranks of their non-Malay counterparts. That policy of favoring a select coterie of businessmen has led to charges of cronyism and nepotism ever since the Mahathir administration embarked on privatization in the 1980s.

Bad loans were written off after the Asian financial crisis that broke in mid-19997, and today two agencies specially created are still soaking up multibillion ringgit nonperforming loans and pumping in much-needed capital to ailing firms.

Then came finance minister Daim Zainuddin's resignation. Losing a key ally has left Mahathir looking increasingly isolated. But with one eye on the fate of other autocratic ex-rulers around the world, Mahathir is not expected to leave in a hurry.