As Prime Minister Najib Razak expressed wishes for a smooth and non-violent transition of power in Egypt, Malaysians are wondering if he will do the same when the crunch comes here, or if he will set the police on the people as previous administrations have done so.
“It is not unlikely given that Mahathir has finally admitted what everyone knows – the police are just a tool for the Umno elite and they will take orders, perhaps even against their own countrymen,” PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
Tian was referring to former premier Mahathir Mohamad, who just days ago, coincidentally pointed out that it was the police and not himself, even though he was also Home Minister at that time, who ordered a violent crackdown on political dissidents in 1987.
“Well, I would have handled it differently, except that the police wanted to do these things because they say it is necessary. I actually met all of the opposition members (beforehand) and assured them that they would not be arrested. And you know what the police did? They arrested them. My credibility is gone,” Mahathir had said
Hanif Omar, the Inspector General of Police at that time, has backed him up.
“You can’t blame him (Mahathir). He is right. As a matter of fact, it was entirely the police’s decision. It was not his (Mahathir’s) decision. Mahathir was actually opposed to it. He was against Ops Lalang,” said Hanif, who has often been accused of being Mahathir’s stooge.
Free-for-all in Umno
There have been a lot of comparisons between what has befallen Egypt and Tunisia and while few think that placid Malaysians would really rouse themselves to action and take to the streets, pundits say the passion that lurks within cannot be taken for granted.
Especially if Najib and Mahathir try to cling to power as did Hosni Mubarak and his son Gamal.
Their Umno party has ruled Malaysian since 1957 and Najib himself is a second-generation leader. His father was prime minister from 1970 to 1976 and it is widely believed that there are plans by his ambitious wife Rosmah Mansor to push their son Norashman to take over in the future.
However, Norashman’s turn can only come after Mahathir’s youngest boy Mukhriz and a few others get a chance to warm the coveted seat. Others in line or eyeing a turn in the Umno musical-chairs charade are Najib’s cousin Hishammuddin Hussein and Khairy Jamaluddin, the son in law of Najib’s predecessor Abdullah Badawi.
Hisham, the current Home Minister, was given direct charge of the police by Najib, whom he calls ‘Jib’. Their families are very close and it was Hisham’s dad who got to succeed Najib’s as the third prime minister, and their mothers are also sisters.
By comparison, Khairy is an outsider, whom those in the Najib-Hisham-Mukhriz camp regard as being “not in the same class” as the “real heirs”.
Egypt and Tunisia rather than Myanmar and Zimbabwe
However, what is worrying Malaysians and foreign investors is not the Umno internal struggle, which has been brewing since 2008 and turning into a real full-fledged typhoon, but Najib’s increasing threats against any change to the political status quo.
“There is already a credible opposition in Pakatan Rakyat able to take over the federal government and rule Malaysia should indeed Malaysians want change. The problem is how much and how nasty a fight the likes of Mahathir and Najib will put up,” Tian said.
“At risk is 50-over years of massive corruption and the people will surely demand that the corrupt leaders and their families be brought to justice and to account for every stolen sen. Do you think the Umno elite will let go so easily? But like the people of Egypt have shown, if Malaysians have courage, they can effect change. We can follow the examples of Tunisia and Egypt rather than Myanmar and Zimbabwe.”
Most glaring was Najib’s warning aired widely in the mainstream media last week that Malaysians should not try to emulate the Egyptians. Worst was his direct threat that he would not allow a “people’s uprising” in Malaysia.
“Don’t think that what is happening there must also happen in Malaysia. We will not allow it to happen here,” the BN-controlled Star reported him as saying.
Setting the police on the people
Pakatan Rakyat leaders congratulated the people of Egypt for their successful ouster of dictator Hosni Mubarak after nearly three weeks strife and street violence.
Pointing to the corruption that had brought the regimes led by Mubarak and Tunisia’s Ben Ali to an end, they also warned the same could happen here with leaders of the ruling regime making a last grab for the country’s wealth before they fled.
“The likes of Mubarak, Ben Ali escape with their billions. Watch the Umno leaders!” Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim said on Twitter.
He was referring to Malaysia’s ruling party led by Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Like the case in both Egypt and Tunisia, Umno has ruled with a fist of iron for decades. Leaders including Najib, his predecessors Abdullah Badawi and Mahathir Mohamad have been accused of siphoning massive amounts of the people’s money into their own accounts.
Last month, renowned watchdog Global Financial Integrity named Malaysia as one of the nations to have suffered the largest amounts of illicit outflows amounting to a whopping US$291 billion or RM888 billion during the years 2000 to 2009.
When different groups and different creeds unite
Meanwhile, MP for Bukit Bendera Liew Chin Tong (left) said the changing landscape in the Muslim world had strong ramifications for the future especially for nations where Islam played a key role.“The world has witnessed once again the triumph of democracy. The end of Mubarak’s thirty-year autocratic rule of Egypt, following the end of Ben Ali’s 23-year rule of Tunisia, has ramifications beyond its shores,” Liew, who is also the DAP International Secretary, said in a statement.
“All autocrats and dictators that survive on manipulating elections, controlling the media and crushing legitimate dissents with police brutality, are put on notice by the sudden wave of democratisation in the Middle East and North Africa.”
PKR state assemblyman for Seri Setia Nik Nazmi (right) urged Malaysians to be emboldened by the courage shown by the people in Egypt and Tunisia. He said the new century was an era where people would get closer due to globalisation and the Internet. Racial and religious discrimination would fade so long as the people supported the rights of each other.“It shows the demand for democracy works when the people stand up for it.It is also inspirational to watch the way Muslims and Christians, secularists and Islamists, liberals and moderates work together for change,” Nik Nazmi told Malaysia Chronicle.
Liew also called the Egypt people’s uprising a “Berlin Wall moment” for the Muslim world that heralded an era of democracy and greater civil rights for the people.
“It is also a clear signal to governments that have previously ignored the challenges posed by unplanned urban growth, youth unemployment and under-employment, growing inflation and inequality, as well as corruption,” said Liew.readmrehttp://themalaysiantribune-taxidriver.blogspot.com/2011/02/egypt-state-tv-switches-sides-as.html
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