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Thursday, Sep 09, 2004

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WHIFF OF FRESH AIR

SIX YEARS AFTER he was stripped of his Deputy Prime Ministership and tried for corruption and sodomy, Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim has been set free by a 2-1 judgment of the Federal court quashing his conviction in the sodomy case. The former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister walked free, although he is barred from participating in electoral politics for some time. He was quick to thank not merely the judges but also Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for his freedom. Such an outcome would have been unthinkable had Dr. Mahathir Mohamed been in power. The change of guard and the consequent easing of the tense political atmosphere in Malaysia have brought considerable relief across Southeast Asia. Of course, neither Malaysia nor the region can deny the towering contribution of Dr. Mahathir in many spheres, above all economic development and foreign policy. But a healing touch was definitely called for and it is heartening to note that Mr. Badawi is providing just that to his country and the region. In 1998, at the height of the economic crisis in East Asia, Dr. Mahathir administered shock treatment to Malaysia's body politic by sacking his chosen successor. Mr. Ibrahim's conviction, first on corruption charges and then in a sodomy case, not only removed a major player from the political stage, but also vitiated the atmosphere.

Mr. Ibrahim had many faults. His Prime Minister had every reason to feel dissatisfied with the way the Finance Minister was handling the meltdown. Dr. Mahathir might have felt that his deputy was slavishly following western economists and disastrous World Bank-IMF recipes for economic revival. But the charges brought against Mr. Ibrahim were too much for Malaysians and the region to swallow. Aside from discrediting him, the trial and conviction instilled a sense of fear among Malaysians. "If this can happen to the Deputy Prime Minister of the country, where are we," was the question uppermost in the minds of the people. After that harsh experience, the approach of Mr. Badawi in letting the law take its course has come as a whiff of fresh air. The country's external image will improve and Malaysians will certainly feel less stifled. The Federal court has also admitted a review petition in the corruption case, in which it had earlier upheld the trial court's conviction. Though he is away for surgery in Germany, a reversal of the conviction now could mean an early return to politics for Mr. Ibrahim. Political freedom for him will signal increased space for political diversity and dissent.

From the moment Mr. Badawi advanced the general election and decided to emerge from the shadow of his towering predecessor, it became obvious that he wanted to set his own goals and walk his own path. The voters responded by giving him a massive mandate. Apart from the fact he and Mr. Ibrahim were colleagues in the Cabinet for a long time, the fact that the political leadership of the country is not vindictive makes a huge difference to the people. Whether Mr. Ibrahim continues his `struggle for justice' or returns to politics is not the key issue now. In fact, his ideology and politics are likely to take Malaysia backward, not forward. The point is that personal issues should not be exploited when responding to a political challenge. L'affaire Anwar Ibrahim will be one of those chapters in Malaysia's political history that are best forgotten. The faster Malaysia moves ahead in the path of political and economic liberalism, the better for the country.

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