|
|||||||||||||||
|
Corruption cannot be ended just by talk Crowds in Penang give Anwar a rousing home-coming after six-year absence
by Anil Netto
Please support our work by buying a copy of our print publication, Aliran Monthly, from your nearest news-stand. Better still take out a subscription now. If you prefer to read our web-based edition, please support our work and make a donation.
4 pm Friday, 5 Nov 2004 Recently freed former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim was mobbed by reformasi supporters when he returned to his home-state of Penang after a six-year absence and promptly launched into a strident attack on corruption. Some 2,000 people thronged the Penang Chinese Town Hall in the heart of George Town to give Anwar an ecstatic welcome. �Some cynics ask, �Which country in the world hasn�t got corruption; it is a way of life.� I say, we have to change that!� he said to thunderous applause. One of Anwar�s last official duties as deputy premier in 1998 was to grace the national-level Merdeka celebrations in Penang that year, just two days before he was sacked. In scenes reminiscent of the aftermath of his sacking and arrest soon after that, cries of �Reformasi!� erupted outside and inside the Penang Chinese Town Hall when the four-wheel drive carrying Anwar pulled up outside the hall. Hundreds spilled out of the packed hall despite the lack of publicity for the event and the fact it was held in the afternoon during working hours. In a sign of how wary the authorities are of Anwar�s ability to mobilise the masses, police set up at least five checkpoints along major routes leading into the city just before the scheduled start of the gathering, worsening traffic congestion and delaying those heading for the venue. Apparently, Anwar had taken the ferry across to the island after meeting more supporters after Friday prayers at the Seberang Jaya mosque on the mainland. Though there were no police trucks near the hall on the island, plainclothes police and Special Branch officers were out in numbers. Still appealing Anwar, who returned to Malaysia on 31 Oct 2004 after undergoing spinal surgery in Munich and then going on a pilgrimage to Mecca, showed that he had lost little of his charismatic appeal and his ability to strike a chord with ordinary people. Looking visibly older, his hair thinning, he beamed as his aides struggled to wade him through a sea of people, their hands outstretched as they tried to shake his, leading up to the stage. Earlier, Tian Chua, vice-president of Keadilan, headed by Wan Azizah, who was also present, paid tribute to those gathered. �We should be proud that if not for you, the people, who stood by your principles, (Anwar�s return) today would not have been possible,� he said. ��Today is not the end of the road but the beginning.� In a rare sign of unity of purpose, almost equal numbers of ethnic Malays and Chinese, with Indians making up the rest, filled the hall. �It is good to see the people coming together like this,� said an activist campaigning against the controversial Penang Outer Ring Road project (PORR), which critics say would lead to more traffic on the island. Speaking in a mix of Malay and English, Anwar pointed out that Malaysia had slipped from 37th to 39th place in this year�s Corruption Perceptions ranking by Transparency International. The slide had occurred despite current premier Abdullah Badawi�s year-long anti-graft campaign, which appears to have faltered.
But Anwar struck a conciliatory note with Abdullah. ��Whatever action that the Prime Minister takes for the benefit of the people, we will support,�� he said. ��But it must be remembered corruption cannot be ended just by talk. It can only be wiped out if action is taken against the most corrupt.�� Back to basics Anwar highlighted the plight of petty traders and hawkers who he claimed had to pay bribes to enforcement officials. Complaining that little had been done for the petty traders whom he had visited in Kuala Lumpur, he said the cost of upgrading facilities for them would have been miniscule, just a few hundreds of thousands of ringgit. �Even the fencing at Putrajaya costs more than that!� he said, referring to the lavish new administrative capital, near Kuala Lumpur. He slammed mega projects, in a veiled attack against the previous Mahathir administration, though he did not mention names. ��Nothing was done for eight years for the small traders, but during that time we spent tens of billions of ringgit on mega projects, building the longest, the tallest and the greatest,�� he said in a reference to the Mahathir administration�s penchant for world records in obscure categories. �Penang is a special state, its people are unique. When I was in jail, I would think of rojak, nasi kandar, Penang,� he mused. He urged the Penang government to speed up projects that would benefit the people. ��If there are projects that do not benefit the people, like PORR, consult the people and if they don�t want them, just defer or amend them; why ram them down their throats? And why the insistence on specific contractors?�� he asked. ��I don�t understand this.�� He also referred to talk of building an expensive second bridge (linking Penang to the mainland). ��If basic needs such as water, electricity, facilities for small traders have not yet been met, don�t think of mega projects,�� he urged. ��Settle the people�s problems first.�� �I don�t oppose big projects, but our priorities should be schools, healthcare facilities and public amenities.� A former official of the Penang Development Corporation, the state government�s development arm, later complained outside the hall that Penang state had wasted funds by building a new multi-million ringgit stadium on the mainland when it already had a smaller though older stadium on the island. ��The new stadium has turned into a white elephant because of its location,�� he grumbled. Not everyone shared the euphoria over Anwar�s return. One government security official struck a discordant note in conversations among the crowd after the event. ��What was Anwar doing when he was Finance Minister (in the 1990s)?�� he said. ��He was approving all kinds of projects then.�� Anwar said Malaysia was in a state of denial over the fact that the economy is not growing as it should. �Unemployment is getting higher, inflation is rising, the price of oil is soaring and foreign investments are not coming,� he said. Peace, he said, was necessary for continued development. �We will do everything possible to ensure that Malaysia remains peaceful. If at all terrorism emerges � if Muslims are found to be involved in terrorism � we will fight them together. We don�t want any of them involved in terrorism.� The one-time heir to former premier Mahathir sought to allay fears that he might be rejoining the ruling United Malays National Organisation. ��I was astonished at the number of people who would come up to me and after greeting me (in the usual way), would then whisper into my ear, �Jangan masuk UMNO� � Don�t re-join UMNO, �� he revealed, as the crowd roared with laughter. ��Even before I could say anything, they (the UMNO people) were angry with me and said, �You cannot enter UMNO!� �� ��Enter what?�� Anwar mocked, to loud applause. ��Who wants to enter UMNO? I never said anything about entering, why were they angry with me?� Still, it seemed clear that Anwar had avoided any direct attacks on the premier and UMNO president, Abdullah Badawi. His offer of support for Abdullah in the fight against graft, especially amidst talk that the premier faces stiff resistance within UMNO, will be closely watched. Anwar, however, reiterated his commitment to reformasi and the opposition parties. ��Remember, I am committed to the agenda of bringing about reforms and change to the country,�� he stressed at the end. ��I am committed to working with opposition parties like keADILan, DAP (Democratic Action Party), and PAS (Pan Malaysian Islamic Party) as well as progressive NGOs for the good of the nation.�� Now e-mail us and tell us what you think. Your comments might be published in the Letters section of our print magazine, Aliran Monthly. | |||||||||||||||
Some cynics ask, �Which country in the world hasn�t got corruption; it is a way of life.� I say, we have to change that! 
