Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times Barry Wain (grave mercy .TXT) 📖

with the establishment of a permanent, independent body to initiate and conduct investigations into graft and other abuses. But when the proposal for an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission was resisted by police, Abdullah prevaricated, and what remained of his anti-corruption drive disintegrated.

In a moment of irritation with his predecessor, Abdullah admitted that public confidence in the judiciary was low, but said that "this didn't happen during my time", alluding to events in 1988, when Dr. Mahathir intervened and brought the judiciary to heel.[86] Yet even when Anwar Ibrahim released a videotaped recording in 2007 showing a local lawyer, V.K. Lingam, boasting about his ability to broker judicial appointments, the government was reluctant to revisit the episode. After a protest march by lawyers, Abdullah appointed a toothless three-member panel to probe the authenticity of the videotape. With Anwar cleverly ratcheting up the pressure by periodically releasing more clips from the same videotape, Abdullah bowed to public demands in late 2007 for a full-blown royal commission. Its hearings in early 2008 proved sensational — Dr. Mahathir, his tycoon friend Vincent Tan, Lingam, two retired chief justices and a former minister all gave evidence — with a fuzzy picture emerging of a subverted judiciary. Dr. Mahathir's memory, usually as sharp as his tongue, let him down under oath: He said "I can't remember" or its equivalent 14 times during his 90-minute testimony, prompting opposition leader Lim Kit Siang to accuse him of "selective amnesia".[87]

More worrying for Abdullah was a deteriorating social climate in which the Indians and Chinese believed they were being denied political, religious and economic space. As positions polarized, some Malays also felt their rights were being challenged. The minorities were disturbed by what they regarded as creeping Islamization and by periodic displays of ketuanan Melayu, Malay supremacy, while the New Economic Policy was extended so reflexively that it was dubbed the "never ending policy". Extremists gained the upper hand as Abdullah proved ineffective in stemming an "increasingly intolerant" and "growing tide of Malay-Muslim communitarianism".[88]

With Abdullah's Islam Hadhari exposed as a political slogan to regain Malay votes rather than a new marker for social harmony,[89] an estimated 20,000 Indians poured onto the streets of the capital in November 2007. Led by the Hindu Rights Action Force, they defied a ban on the rally, pre-emptive arrests and police use of water canons, tear gas and baton charges to disperse them. At least 88 demonstrators were arrested, with five leaders later being detained without trial under the Internal Security Act for allegedly making inflammatory remarks. The government's heavy-handed response, consistent with its intolerant attitude to other peaceful protests, dramatically reversed sentiment in the Indian community, which had long been quiescent and pro-government.[90]

A memorable headline on an editorial by Steven Gan, editor-in-chief of Malaysiakini, summed up the popular reinterpretation of Abdullah near the end of his first term: "An incompetent, not-so-nice guy".[91] Yet almost nobody forecast the "political tsunami", as it was dubbed, that struck the government in a general election Abdullah called on 8 March 2008.

The National Front lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament for the first time and conceded control of five of the country's 13 states. The government won 140 seats in the new 222-seat Parliament against 199 in the outgoing 219-seat Parliament. A loose alliance of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, led by Anwar Ibrahim's wife, PAS and the Democratic Action Party, won 82 seats compared with 20 previously. They later formed a coalition called the People's Front, raising the prospect that Malaysia might develop a viable two-party political system. A vital factor was the charismatic Anwar, whose formidable organizational skills brought the parties together despite their misgivings about each other. While the timing of the election prevented Anwar from standing as a candidate by a few weeks, his unmatched oratory harnessed dissatisfaction in all ethnic communities and persuaded significant numbers to vote opposition regardless of race and religion.

The shocking results turned Malaysian political life upside down, creating uncertainty at state and federal level, in the ranks of the National Front and within each of its decimated component parties. It raised the possibility, previously almost unthinkable, that the UMNO-led government, in place for half a century, might lose office. As the People's Front took over state administrations in Penang, Perak, Trengganu and Selangor, joining Kelantan, already in opposition hands, Anwar reinforced National Front anxiety by engaging in psychological warfare. He predicted he would replace the central government within months by enticing at least 30 defectors, especially legislators from neglected Sabah, to join his People's Front and give it a majority in Parliament. The outcome also raised hopes that the era of race-based politics might be ending. Anwar had campaigned for a Malaysian Economic Agenda to replace the New Economic Policy and provide help to all needy Malaysians rather than bumiputras alone.

Adding to the turmoil in UMNO, Dr. Mahathir led a chorus blaming Abdullah for the rout and called on him, yet again, to quit. Tengku Razaleigh, the former finance minister, announced he would challenge Abdullah for the leadership. In the fluid political scene, where it was almost impossible to forecast what might happen next, Abdullah accepted responsibility for the dismal performance. He indicated he would step down in favour of Najib, his deputy, at some unspecified time beyond the annual UMNO General Assembly in December 2008 and before his next five-year term had expired.

Spurred by what amounted to a psychological defeat for the government, Abdullah pursued some of the reforms he had promised in his first term. As if to redeem his own legacy, he appointed as de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim, a lawyer and former member of the Aliran reform movement, which itself had been a target of Dr. Mahathir's ire. Resisting pressures from within his own Cabinet and administration, Abdullah unveiled a package of measures that not only further impugned Dr. Mahathir's record but also set in motion events that could engulf the former prime minister in more controversy, if not legal proceedings.[92]

Abdullah expressed regret over the