Malaysia's Neighbors Break With Policy of Silence Over Internal Politics : Asians Criticize Treatment of Anwar
International Herald Tribune
October 2, 1998
Thomas Fuller

Some of Malaysia's neighbors, breaking a long-standing tradition in Southeast Asia of noninterference in the internal affairs of other nations, on Thursday loudly criticized the detention and apparent beating of Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister of Malaysia.

President Joseph Estrada of the Philippines threatened to boycott the summit meeting next month of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Kuala Lumpur.

"I'm thinking of not going to Malaysia because they put my good friend Anwar behind bars," Mr. Estrada said.

The Philippine president's press secretary later played down the statement, saying that Mr. Estrada was simply expressing a "personal" opinion.

But comments from other leading

politicians, religious leaders and human rights groups in Southeast Asia suggest that Malaysia is coming under increased pressure over the recent dismissal and detention of Mr. Anwar.

President B.J. Habibie of Indonesia, a close friend of Mr. Anwar's, is considering canceling an upcoming visit to Malaysia, an aide to the president said Thursday at a press conference in Jakarta.

State Secretary Akbar Tanjung said Mr. Habibie might cancel the visit because he had "a lot of work" at home. At the same press conference Mr. Tanjung also criticized the handling of Mr. Anwar's case by the government of Malaysia.

"I am concerned because it happened to a leader," Mr. Tanjung said. "Apart from the issue of him being guilty or not, the matter should have been left to the judiciary."

Mr. Anwar was detained under the Internal Security Act on Sept. 20, after a political demonstration in Kuala Lum-

But the mounting criticism by Kuala Lumpur's neighbors seems to indicate a shift in the way Southeast Asian governments view relations with other countries in the region.

In the past year, new governments have come to power in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand — countries where criticism of Malaysia's recent actions has been strongest.

Mr. Mahathir, who has been in power for 17 years, has been the leading proponent of the view that Asian governments must act differently from their counterparts in the West because of the nature of Asian societies.

With this "Asian values" approach, Malaysia has often in the past lobbied hard for a policy of noninterference in countries like Burma, where a military government ignored election results in 1990 and has remained in power ever since.

But the recent criticism suggests that Malaysia's traditionally strong voice in such groupings as the Association of South East Asian Nations could be diluted. The association also includes the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Burma, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Criticism of Mr. Anwar's dismissal and detention in recent days has also come from leading religious figures and human rights campaigners around Southeast Asia.

Jose Ramos Horta, the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize winner and advocate for the independence of the territory of East Timor from Indonesia, last week said he strongly supported Mr. Anwar and called on Mr. Mahathir "to face reality and draw upon the lessons of South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia."

"Experience shows that eliminating an adversary does not guarantee long-term success," he said.

Last week, a group of influential Muslim intellectuals in Indonesia, including Abdurrahman Wahid, the leader of the country's largest Muslim social group, and a prominent opposition politician, Emil Salim, said they supported Mr. Anwar and sought "justice and the truth, as well as to uphold human rights in Malaysia."

But perhaps a better indicator of the Indonesian reaction to the detention of Mr. Anwar came during a visit to Indonesia last week by a former deputy prime minister of Malaysia, Ghafar Baba.

Mr. Ghafar made the trip to explain the dismissal of Mr. Anwar, but found little sympathy for his views among Indonesian journalists and religious leaders.

"Maybe he is more fitting to be a leader in Indonesia, because I heard that it is O.K. to be homosexual here, but in Malaysia it is against the law," Mr. Ghafar said angrily at a press conference after being challenged over the grounds for the dismissal of Mr. Anwar.

After the comments, protesters picketed the Malaysian Embassy, one of them holding a sign that read: "Ghafar Baba is a cheap politician. Go away and leave our nation."

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