[ Laman Ehwal Semasa ReformIS ]
Date: 08 Aug 1999
Time: 00:16:05
Remote User: -
Letter From Chandra To Guan Eng
Saudara Lim Guan Eng Kajang Prison Selangor 1 August 1999
Dear Guan Eng,
Soon you will be released from prison. 25 August 1999 will go down in Malaysian history as one of the important milestones in our struggle for justice and freedom. In a sense, 25 August has some significance already. It was on that date in 1988 that Shahrir Samad, standing as an Independent, defeated the UMNO-Barisan Nasional candidate in the Johor Baru by-election signalling the people's disgust with the Mahathir government's authoritarianism reflected in the unjust sacking of Tun Salleh Abas as the Head of the Malaysian Judiciary.
In a real sense, you are 'coming back' to a different Malaysia. The last 10 months have witnessed an unprecedented political awakening within a significant segment of society. People from all walks of life have become much more conscious of the abuse of power on the part of the ruling elite. They are particularly critical of Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. He is perceived as a leader who has misused the fundamental institutions of governance -- the police, the Attorney-General's office, the Judiciary -- for his own interest. The resentment against his prolonged stay in office is widespread. Mahathir's unwillingness to act firmly against elite corruption -- corruption involving political loyalists and economic cronies -- has earned him the wrath of the educated and informed middle-class. His bias towards mega projects and his irrational ideological obsession with the incubation of millionaires and billionaires, have undermined the people's faith in his leadership. If anything, the palace he has built for himself in Putrajaya epitomises the popular perception of the man: a leader with a touch of megalomania who indulges in grandiose schemes which are antithetical to the well-being of the masses.
Needless to say, the one event which triggered off mass feelings against the elite and Mahathir in particular was the sacking of Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim from the Cabinet and UMNO in early September 1998. It was not just the immense popularity of the former Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy UMNO President which was responsible for the outpouring of support for the man. The manner in which the Mahathir regime chose to humiliate him through the media and the courts by fabricating wild allegations of sexual misconduct incensed a lot of ordinary Malaysians. What infuriated them further was the brutal assault on Anwar by the then Inspector-General of Police while he was in police custody. For many of us, the entire episode was a stark revelation of how evil and cruel certain elements in the ruling elite had become.
Of course, a personality or an event which serves as a catalyst for a change in mass consciousness is never the real cause behind a major social transformation. In our case, the concerted endeavour by the Mahathir regime to maintain a paternalistic, often authoritarian grip upon a society which through education, social mobility and exposure to global trends is becoming more aware of its rights and freedoms is undoubtedly one of the main underlying reasons why there is a mass awakening. A lop-sided approach to economic development which is both overly materialistic and obviously uneven in the distribution of its benefits, has also contributed to the growth of popular consciousness. To add to this, the ostentatious lifestyle of a section of the elite, their opulence, their greed and their corruption, have made ordinary people critical of their rulers.
It is partly because paternalistic, authoritarian governance, overly materialistic, uneven development and decadent elite lifestyles were already eroding the people's confidence in the government that an act of injustice such as your imprisonment in April 1998 generated so much anger among people of all communities. In other words even before the Anwar episode the masses were already beginning to express their revulsion towards a regime which they saw as arrogant and even oppressive. As it often happens, the economic crisis which began in July 1997 had also intensified resentment against the government.
More than any other event up to that point, your imprisonment served to highlight this negative perception of the Mahathir government. The people regarded your vigorous defence of an underaged girl, allegedly a victim of statutory rape by a powerful politician, as an unalloyed, untarnished act of altruism, motivated by a pure and pristine commitment to justice. By going to prison, by sacrificing your personal liberty, by subordinating a promising political career to the cause of truth, you have become a shining beacon of light for all those who often talk about, but seldom put into practice, moral principles in politics. Your example, Guan Eng, is without parallel and without precedent in our land.
It is not just your act of selflessness. By championing the cause of the young girl, you have crossed an ethnic divide as few other leaders have. It is not often that a person of one community chooses consciously to sacrifice his comfort and his career for the sake of a person from another community. It is concrete acts of compassion and justice of this sort transcending ethnic boundaries that help to build a united nation. Here again, you have demonstrated what the substance of national unity is -- as against the superficial slogans that characterise the government's national unity efforts.
As you leave behind the prison walls of Kajang, and as you re-enter Malaysian society, this is the image that emerges: a morally upright politician who fought for justice irrespective of ethnicity. This is why the task that awaits you -- if one may suggest, Guan Eng -- is to help make the people's movement for justice that has developed in the last 10 months into a truly multi-ethnic movement. As you know, the movement, though multi-ethnic in orientation, is still a largely Malay movement. More and more Indian and Chinese Malaysians are beginning to join but a much greater effort is needed to transform the movement into a powerful political force that transcends ethnic boundaries. Our Chinese sisters and brothers in particular have to be persuaded that our movement for change is committed to justice for all. We have to convince them that the political change we envisage will enhance rather than diminish their rights and dignity.
Given your image and your standing, you are in a position to convey this message to the Chinese community in particular and to the Malaysian nation in general. The simple truth is that no movement for change in Malaysia can succeed unless it has the support of all the communities.
This then is the responsibility that awaits you. This is the task that beckons to you.
I have no doubt at all, Guan Eng that you have both the courage and commitment to respond to the challenge of the hour
Sincerely,
(Chandra Muzaffar)