by D J Muzaffar Tate

I mean to speak to the person-in-the-street, or even the paid-up members of UMNO, MCA, MIC and other Barisan Nasional parties who have for too long been exposed only to the views presented by the government-controlled media.

A Number of Jolts

Here in Malaysia, unlike the citizens of Indonesia, Philippines, or Pakistan, for example, we do not live �on the edge�. No one really starves, and there is peace and stability as the media keeps reminding us. In a recent `Meet the People� session, held on a full working-day in Gombak, Dr Mahathir Mohamad even said that the strength of the economy is not measured by the falling stock-market but by the numbers of people who flock to the supermarkets.

No, we are not really suffering. Perhaps that is why it is hard for most people to believe that there is anything rotten in the state of Malaysia.

But over the past couple of years there have been a sufficient number of jolts. We have seen farcical trials of political enemies, scandals and nepotism in high places, and spectacular failures in the corporate world. People now realise that things are not as good as some others claim them to be.

Disturbances at Kampung Medan

One of those jolts is the recent disturbance in Kampung Medan, off Old Klang Road. At first glance, the disturbances were no more than a small, localized affair.

According to official figures, six people died, 42 were injured, and over 220 persons were detained. The Police quickly contained the situation and four days later complete calm had been restored. In Kuala Lumpur and the rest of the country, daily life proceeded as usual.

Anyone listening to the media and believing it wholeheartedly would have been reassured that there was nothing to worry about. There was not even a curfew along Old Klang Road.

However, even this �small� and contained disturbance frighteningly revealed the frailty of our politico-social fabric. Its implications stretch alarmingly into the future. The basic cause of the troubles was not just a tiff between two families - one Indian and the other Malay � but a complex of problems rooted in severe poverty and social deprivation. This was a situation compounded by the racial factor and what happened revealed the parlous state of our political affairs.

Inappropriate Responses

First, the Kampung Medan tragedy showed that four decades of independence have not solved some basic problems of national unity and ethnic integration. It also exposed the skewed nature of our much-vaunted economic development.

Second, the Government�s responses were hardly reassuring. Mahathir and his Cabinet Ministers reacted in a partisan manner. If any problem merited a consolidated, united approach by our political leaders, this was it. The Government should have urged the Opposition parties to work with the Government in condemning racial violence and setting things right.

Instead, statements made by Mahathir and his ministers accused the Opposition of instigating the poor against the Government. Dr. Mahathir kept harping on this line to the extent of telling his audience at his �Meet the People Session� in Gombak that the Government had evidence that the Opposition planned to create chaos, of the sort that has happened in Kalimantan, to topple the Government!

But what were Opposition leaders and Members of Parliament supposed to do? Surely they were correctly performing their duties by visiting the victims of the clashes and offering their help. Had they had just stayed away, what would the people have thought? What would the Government have said?

The media (radio, television and the �national� press) predictably echoed their master�s voice and failed to give objective coverage to the incident and the roles played by Government and Opposition in calming things down. However, since the official media has lost much of its credibility, the impact of its propaganda was perhaps less effective than before.

Finally, Dr Mahathir declared � what everyone else thought was obvious � that the disturbance had its roots in socio-economic problems. So much for Opposition intrigue!. But even this declaration immediately begged other questions. Why had Dr Mahathir�s administration not taken action ten, fifteen, eighteen years ago when the Old Klang Road squatter settlements started to fester? People have been complaining ever since. Why were their complaints not heard? Why was no appropriate action taken?

Ad Hoc Measures

The Government�s ad hoc solution of tarring roads, supplying water and electricity, to say nothing of making many more promises, is familiar. It maintains the tradition of voter-bribery at election time. Since the Minister most directly involved here is Samy Vellu, one appreciates the speed and flair with which these works are being carried out: remember Lunas?

But ad hoc solutions will not achieve lasting results. To overcome poverty and deprivation requires a thorough study of all contributory factors and a far-reaching grasp of necessary solutions.

The Mahathir regime�s past performance gives no confidence that such an in-depth study and planning will take place. The inhabitants of Old Klang Road slums will now get street-lamps, electricity, tarred roads, running water and drains. They may also get cheap houses to replace makeshift hovels. But after that ....?

National Unity, Racial Harmony, and Democracy

This is where the rub lies. After 18 years of Mahathirism, we have a peaceful country, a strong government and a measure of real, if uneven, economic progress - arguably the best record in commercial and economic terms in Southeast Asia (excepting Singapore).

But we have paid a high price. We have lost our democratic soul, such that (along with Singapore and Myanmar) ours is probably the most authoritarian state in Southeast Asia.

We still have the trappings of democracy: Parliament, elections, and channels for guided dissent. But we cannot exert real pressure on our Government on issues that matter, any more than an Opposition Member of Parliament can get the Speaker of the House to accept a motion for debate on a matter of public interest (such as the Kampung Medan disturbances).

Parliament is not supreme. The Cabinet is, and most supreme of all is the Cabinet�s chairman, Dr Mahathir Mohamad. As things stand, the ruling coalition is set to stay for a long time.

That alone will not solve our basic problems of national unity and racial harmony. What we need is to win back the freedom to express dissent, the right to express popular demands via transparent democratic institutions, and an impartial system of justice.

Am I speaking only to the converted?