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Malaysia's security shift raises hope for genuine reform
Sydney Morning Herald - September 17, 2011
Equally, analysts say, the historic move is an attempt by Mr Najib to shore up his faltering political fortunes; he is besieged by conservatives within his own party, led by the former leader Mahathir Mohamad and, at the other end of the spectrum, a resurgent liberal opposition.
Buffeted by both sides, Mr Najib reached out to progressives with the move to repeal the Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite detention without trial, plus the country's controversial Banishment Act.
They will be replaced by new anti-terrorism laws with a "substantially shorter duration of police custody" and, said Mr Najib, "no individual will be arrested on the point of political ideology".
Police will have to get a court order to detain someone without charge, although the minister for home affairs will retain that power for terrorism suspects.
More than 10,000 people have been detained under the ISA since its inception 51 years ago at the height of the communist insurgency, including leading opposition figures such as Anwar Ibrahim.
Mr Najib also said police laws will be amended to allow freedom of assembly according to "international norms", while media companies will no longer have to reapply for their licences annually, a regulation that was a curb on free speech.
"It is time for Malaysians to move forward with new hope," Mr Najib said in a nationally televised address. "Let there be no doubt that the Malaysia we are creating is a Malaysia which has a functional and inclusive democracy."
The announcement was met with raucous cheering at a forum of activists held in Petaling Jaya, a satellite town outside Kuala Lumpur, said Hishammuddin Rais, a prominent writer who was detained under the ISA from 2001 to 2003 for criticising Dr Mahathir, then at the end of his 22-year reign as the country's prime minister. "We all shouted 'At last'," he said. "The Prime Minister has to be congratulated for this."
Nalini Elumalai, secretary of the anti-ISA movement, said she "definitely welcomed the announcement". "Our concern is the time frame for this to happen," she said. "What about the [up to 37] detainees currently held under the ISA? If they have any evidence, they should process them in court. If there's no evidence, they should release them immediately."
The proposed reforms come as Mr Najib's approval ratings have slumped in the wake of a crackdown in July on the Bersih 2.0 [Clean 2.0] rally calling for electoral reform. Police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse about 10,000 protesters and detained 1600 people, earning the government widespread condemnation at home and abroad.
Elections are expected next year and, Chua Tian Chang, a spokesman for Mr Anwar's People's Justice Party, said the reforms reflect "someone who is desperate and will do anything to retain power and popularity".
Mr Najib addressed the political consequences of his decision, saying "there may be short-term pain for me politically, but in the long-term the changes I am announcing will ensure a brighter, more prosperous future for all Malaysians".
Even so, the political pressure he referred to comes from within his own United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the party that has ruled Malaysia since independence.
Mr Najib has staked out a progressive position in UMNO, earlier introducing reforms to weaken the affirmative action policies that had given ethnic Malays preferential treatment in equity markets, government contracts and other spheres of economic life.
The reforms of the "bumiputra" system have been driven by the need to kickstart a struggling economy and to salve the concerns of investors who want a meritocratic society and economy.
The changes have been far from comprehensive. Malays – who account for 60 per cent of the population – still have easier access to university places, the civil service and housing. [Chinese Malaysians account for 23 per cent of the population, while ethnic Indians make up just under 10 per cent of the 28 million-strong nation.)
But, Mr Hishammuddin said, even those modest changes – and the prospect of more in the future – have upset the Malay elites that dominate the government and have long benefited from a lucrative system of patronage.
Dr Mahathir summed up the discontent when he recently observed that "Malays feel that the Chinese are being treated better while they get nothing" under Mr Najib.
Bridget Welsh, a longtime analyst of Malaysia from Singapore Management University, said Mr Najib deserved plaudits for "engaging substantially with political reform", although she added much would depend on implementation. She said Malaysia was being transformed by a vibrant, multi-racial civil society movement of educated young people who have circumvented censorship controls by sharing and accessing information on the internet and through social media.
Mr Najib "has embraced their agenda but he's raising expectations, and the burden will be on him to deliver", she said.
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