u~t·r<~»••nt parties and NGOs, people from all races n!lta•iol'ia are coming together. he Anwar saga has Naturally these different and must be further pro­ g been an important ral­ groups with similar goals moted. lying point for the joined forces in the Gagasan reformasi movement. But con­ and Gerak coalitions to pursue The first item is a set of let­ cern for Anwar's sacking, as­ these goals vigorously. ters bet·ween Anwar and sault and unjust treatment Guan Eng from their respec­ generally have extended into The overall struggle has be­ tive jails: they exchange fes­ concern over wider issues. come more comprehensive tive greetings and discuss thb too: Justice for Anwar, for issue of ethnic relations. Sabri The ISA must go. Undemo­ Guan Eng, for Irene Zain's article Clznllging Times cratic laws must be reviewed Fernandez, for the 126 comments on pre\'ious ethnic so as to guarantee the rakyat's charged for illegal assembly, barriers breaking down. It is rights and liberties. The inde­ and now, for all prisoners too. a piece that lifts up the spirit. pendence and integrity of the No unjust toll hikes, boycott OJ Muzaffar Tate reports on judiciary, the Attorney­ irresponsible newspapers, en­ three functions he attended in Generalis chambers and the sure a free and fair election in Kuala Lumpur, while Anil Police must be restored. Sabah, etc. !\ietto and R.K. Surin write about their e>..perienceattend­ Cronyism must be gotten rid In this issue of AM, we carry ing a forum in Penang. The of. Mega project stopped. Are­ several articles which high­ writers are heartened to see vamp and review of light how the struggle for po­ the different parties and privatisation policies must be litical and economic reforms ~GOs, and ordinary people conducted immediately. has now entered into the from all races and religions realm of ethnic relations too; coming together. But they are Adil's statement of purpose how in their words and deeds also aware of the long journey expresses these calls for politi­ these individuals and groups ahead. Finally Chandra cal and economic reforms. calling for change have at­ Muzaffar compares the situ­ They echo similar calls made tempted "to bridge the Great ation in Malaysia to that in by the opposition parties and Divide''. This is very signifi­ Indonesia and dispels mis­ NGOs over the years. cant in the struggle for reform conception. 0 Aliran Monthly March 1999· 19(2) Page 2 2 Anwar Writes To Guan Eng 4 Guan Eng Replies To Anwar 5 Changing Trmes 8 Three Feasts And A (Soap) Opera 10 Pages From The Past 24 Showdown In Buntong 27 Respect The People's Mandate 40 19 30 ALIRAN'S HOMEPAGE 33 http:/ /www.malaysia.net/aliran Mahathir Should Be Th;mkfuJ Printtd by To The Rakyat 12 lndusjaya Printt'l'l Sdn. Bhd. Malaysian Will Not Tolerate Another Delay 22 34, Pitt Street, 10200 Penang, jogging Mahathir's Memory 23 Malayt la. 38 Published by Aliran Kesedaran Negara (AURAN) 103, Mcdan Pcnaga, 11600 Jclulong, Penang, Malay~ia. Tel : (04) 658 5251 Fax: (04) 658 5197 Ali ran Monthly March 1999: 19(2) Page 3 From Sungai Buloh to Kajang••• Anwa~ .writes to Guan Eng menafiknn adanyn perselisiltnn opposition parties, NGOsand the pendnpal n11tara kiln dalam beberapn Internet-is anything to go by, the perkarn, namtm pend irian dan sikap government has lost a tremen­ sdr. terhndnp person/an kendilan dan dous amount of credibility, and kelulzuran undang-undang cukup the state apparatus, including the I untas dan tidnk berganjnk sedikit police and the judiciary, has been jua pun. (l recall our first meeting badly bruised due to their ill-con­ almost 15 years ago when you ceived campaign against critics were still studying in Australia. and the opposition. What is most Even at that time, the questions gratifying to me is that many you raised, loudly and clearly, grassroots Malays are no longer had attracted attention. I do not passive followers and are seeking deny there were differences of alternative views. Your sincere opinion between us on several fight for the downtrodden, re­ matters; still your stand and atti­ gardless of their ethnic origin, tude towards justice and the sov­ has woken Malaysians to the fact ereignty of the law were obvious that a bigoted attitude only helps and have not changed at all.) corrupt politicians to remain in Selamat menyambut Tahun Bartl power and retards any effort to­ Cina (Happy Chlnese New Year): In some ways, our incarceration wards reform. sitz niet1 chin pu (to a progressive has helped open the eyes of Ma­ year ahead) /sin nien lrno (a good laysians to the injustices in our When I attended the Kajang \igil new year to you)fnien nie11 system, and thereby, to rouse in your honour, the Mahathir­ hao(may every year be good for them from their complacency controlled media, a.'!' expected, you). Semperza acorn penting bunt and encourage them to partici­ saw it a:. an opportunity to go on keluargn dan masyarnkat Cirza pate more meaningfully in the a frenzied attack, accusing me of u mumnya, say a terke11angka 11 political process. I am sure you being a turncoat to the Malay snudara dan in gin h1rut menyatakan are aware that since our misfor­ cause, little reafi ...ing that it j, no harapan agar sambutan tahun im tunes, even housewives and longer easy to fool the public in merupnka11 kesempnfatz baik buat schoolchildren have begun to the information age. Dr Mahathir saudara dan perjuangan keadilan di question whether there is democ­ is contemplating how to en~ure Malaysia. (On this important oc­ racy and justice in Malaysia. Our the 'multimedia' !!trategy works casion for the Chinese family and battle for a more informed politi­ while keeping Malay:.ians igno­ community, I am thinking of you cal consciousness among Malay­ rant. Jt', a formidable task in­ and wish to express my hope that sians is already hal£ won. Take deed! Unlike the crony-editors, this year's celebration will be an heart in the knowledge that a they see the Guan Eng issue in its opportune time for you and the growing number of Malaysians proper light- that it has nothing struggle for justice in Malaysia.) do recognise your contribution to to do w1th race and everything to the struggle for reform of our do with Justice. Saya teringat pertemuan pertama political and judicial systems. kita hampir 15 tahun yang lalu £yen OYerseas Malaysians are, tatkala sdr masih memmtut di Aus­ There is a growing disillusion­ more than ever, expressing their tralia. Pada ketika itu pun, ment or even disenchantment concern about the corruption in ketegnsan dan kelnntangan sdr with the ruling clique and their our system. When I was in Lon- mengemukakan persoalan telah state apparatus. If the altemati,·e men a rik perhntian. Sa ya tidnk press - that is, the organs of the (ontinued on p.1 ~e,., Aliron Monthly March 1999; 19(2) Page A From Kajang to Sungai Buloh ••• Guan Eng replies to Anwar tory and to make our political not eliminated, then the country culture more ethical and moral. will be destroyed. But if corrup­ tion is successfully eliminated, The cry of reformasi, and its an­ then BN will be destroyed. The tithesis of corruption, cronyism choice is dear- self-preservation and nepotism, is equally a cry for at all costs. justice. It has struck a resonant chord because ordinary Malay­ Where is there justice when a sians are fed-up of being lied to, rape victim can be detained for bullied and worst of all, having about three years whilst her rap­ their intelligence openly insulted. ists need not spend even a single Malaysians are not interested in day in jail? Where is there justice political partisanship but just when an MP who speaks up want truth and justice. against such moral outrage is punished by imprisonment? All of us want to raise our chil­ dren to believe in truth and jus­ In fact, I am not surprised that the I have just received your letter tice, nol seeing these fundamen­ prison authorities here in Kajang that was finally delivered to me tal values trampled upon by the are making feverish preparations via a 'circuitous' route that I hope ruling clique in the name of na­ for your ccU even though your trial you will not need to discover. tional interest. This is what makes is still continuing. One is curious Allow me first to extend my be­ the refonnasi challenge so sustain­ how they can be so certain of your lated Selamat Hari Raya greet­ ing and leaves the government impending conviction. ings from my family and to sa­ completely confused. lute lhe courage and resilience of I believe our passion for truth and your wife and children in defy­ For too long, the government has justice will not be diminished by ing the powers of oppression. been allowed to treat truth as our incarceration. Instead, the merely to spin and justice as mere adversities we encounter shall Reading your recollections of our rhetoric. An example of such spin only strenglhen our resolve as first fiery introduction has made is when reformnsi is equated with well as serve to open up the me pause and reflect on how we demonstrations bringing about minds of Malaysians to the iniq­ have been pulled and pushed by violence, chaos and social disorder. uities of those who rule in their the ebb and flow of history. We name. took divergent paths and were This is a desperate tactic to pre­ headed towards the opposite vent the success of reformasi so The brutal physical assault on ends of the political spectrum.