Will Britain betray Human Rights?
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Anwar�s quest for a dynamic, peaceful, prosperous,
caring, harmonious, robust, free, disciplined, liberal
and tolerant society
FROM OUR LONDON DESK
By Wan Zainul
On Saturday, 5 February 2004, Anwar spoke at an event
jointly-organised by Amnesty International (AI) and
the School of Oriental and African Studies Islamic
Society (SOAS) in London. The topic of his lecture was
�Will Britain Betray Human Rights?�.
Upon his arrival, AI ushered Anwar aside for an
interview. Then, he began to deliver his speech to an
audience that filled the SOAS lecture room to the
brink. About half were Britons, Indians, Indonesians
and Singaporeans; the other half consisted of
Malaysians. A Malaysian student tape-recorded his
speech for his friends while another captured it on
video. The public, that was only informed of the event
two days before that, were all eager to hear what
Anwar had to say -- in particular on whether way he
says today is consistent with what he used to say when
in government.
In his speech, Anwar emphasised that while terrorism
presented the world, including Britain, with a new
challenge, in no instance should the rule of law and
due process be abandoned. New laws in the UK, which
allowed for the abandonment of such a process in order
to combat terrorism, have betrayed its legacy of
respect for human rights and individual freedom. In
the world post-911, it is sad that the Western world
has emulated those petty despots they criticised all
this while in certain aspects of their approach in
combating terrorism. British Muslims have
disproportionately been the victims of those laws.
Those values, assert Anwar, are not just relevant in
the UK, but universally, both East and West. Anwar
acknowledges however that Muslims too have a role to
play in stressing the peaceful message of Islam and
rooting out terrorism from their midst. "We can be
tough against terrorists, but without abandoning
fundamental principles," said Anwar.
It was during this session that several individuals
from the Malaysian Students Department or High
Commission took pictures of the participants -
probably to enforce the prior warning that sponsored
students should not attend any programs with Anwar.
When Anwar began a session especially for Malaysians,
he said that those individuals should find better
things to do than just snapping pictures or detailing
those attending the program in order to take action
against those students.
"There's no problem if the government sends out Pak
Lah or Najib to come and rebut all my arguments
tomorrow, but it's absurd that students in London
should be treated like this," Anwar lamented.
One wonders what were in the minds of the now
red-faced individuals who were caught snapping
pictures of the audience -- but at the end of the
event they met Anwar personally. I don't know what it
was they said to Anwar.
Another student quizzed Anwar in a rather
straightforward manner: "You have never specified
which party you will join since you have been
released. There is a credible theory that you might
eventually join UMNO where Pak Lah will use you as a
buffer against Najib."
Anwar smiled, and said, "Well, if I wanted to rejoin
UMNO I will not criticise them the way I have since
have been released. I have been clear that I will
pursue the agenda of reform and hope to unite the
opposition to achieve that task."
The same student then asked, "Why did you support
Mahathir in 1987 instead of Ku Li for the UMNO
Presidency?"
"At that point of time," replied Anwar, "I was still
convinced of Mahathir's vision of developing the
economy, eradicating corruption and instilling Islamic
values, the same vision that convinced me to join UMNO
in the first place. Ibrahim (Ali, who was there)
supported Ku Li instead. But, as you know, Mahathir
won by just over 40 votes, and if I manoeuvred the
Youth wing to support Ku Li, Mahathir would have
lost".
Anwar was also asked about his stand on the ISA,
especially at the time of Operasi Lalang in 1987.
Anwar replied that he was the only government official
in Parliament to state on record the need for the ISA
to be reviewed. But, as a lone voice, he said, he
couldn't achieve much. He did admit that he cannot
absolve himself from all the excesses of the system
since he was part and parcel of the system, but he
said that his commitment to help the worse-off and
create a more democratic Malaysia can be seen from his
days as a student activist, in ABIM, in UMNO and now.
"Let's look to the future," said Anwar.
Some say Anwar says one thing now while he said the
opposite when he was in government. This is not true.
As an example, consider what Anwar said on 8 December
1992 at the Institute of Southeast Asean Studies in
Singapore.
�As our societies grow more prosperous, it is
inevitable that there will be increasing demands for
greater openness and participation in societal and
political processes. In the context of our plural and
multicultural societies, we therefore have to learn to
exercise greater tolerance in the face of diversity of
opinions and conflicting views.�
�We cherish universal human rights and democratic
values which must be integrated with moral ideals and
Asian culture. What we cannot tolerate, however, are
the evils attendant upon prosperity -- greed,
rapaciousness, corruption and moral decadence.�
�Thus we need to inculcate moral ideals, ethical
practices, transparency, accountability, environmental
consciousness and social responsibility throughout the
entire system of government, business and social
institutions.�
�In the final analysis the progress of integration in
East Asia will be beyond economics. The pursuit of
progress and material well-being does not require us
to abandon the positive aspects of our traditions.
Neither must we tenuously hold on to everything from
the past, particularly those unjust, wicked and
retrogressive feudalistic practices.�
�If I can summarise our quest: It is towards an East
Asian society, dynamic yet peaceful, prosperous yet
caring, harmonious yet robust, free yet disciplined,
liberal and tolerant yet fully moral and ethical.�
Overall, many who attended the event of last Saturday
were happy to be able to meet Anwar. There were some
students -- probably fifteen in all -- who dared
attend in spite of the intimidation as threats, as
well as the photo-snapping officials. One student said
that she was nervous and still expects to get a
warning for attending the event.
For the rest, it was a welcome sight after the
political crisis of 1998 to be able to see a healthy
and convivial Anwar after what he and the country had
suffered. A Singaporean journalist who later went to
personally meet Anwar said that Anwar was a fresh
voice for change -- different than the uptight
Mahathir or PAP leaders which had interviewed before.
If only the Malaysian authorities could accept such a
refreshing change....
Anwar�s quest for a dynamic, peaceful, prosperous,
caring, harmonious, robust, free, disciplined, liberal
and tolerant society
FROM OUR LONDON DESK
By Wan Zainul
On Saturday, 5 February 2004, Anwar spoke at an event
jointly-organised by Amnesty International (AI) and
the School of Oriental and African Studies Islamic
Society (SOAS) in London. The topic of his lecture was
�Will Britain Betray Human Rights?�.
Upon his arrival, AI ushered Anwar aside for an
interview. Then, he began to deliver his speech to an
audience that filled the SOAS lecture room to the
brink. About half were Britons, Indians, Indonesians
and Singaporeans; the other half consisted of
Malaysians. A Malaysian student tape-recorded his
speech for his friends while another captured it on
video. The public, that was only informed of the event
two days before that, were all eager to hear what
Anwar had to say -- in particular on whether way he
says today is consistent with what he used to say when
in government.
In his speech, Anwar emphasised that while terrorism
presented the world, including Britain, with a new
challenge, in no instance should the rule of law and
due process be abandoned. New laws in the UK, which
allowed for the abandonment of such a process in order
to combat terrorism, have betrayed its legacy of
respect for human rights and individual freedom. In
the world post-911, it is sad that the Western world
has emulated those petty despots they criticised all
this while in certain aspects of their approach in
combating terrorism. British Muslims have
disproportionately been the victims of those laws.
Those values, assert Anwar, are not just relevant in
the UK, but universally, both East and West. Anwar
acknowledges however that Muslims too have a role to
play in stressing the peaceful message of Islam and
rooting out terrorism from their midst. "We can be
tough against terrorists, but without abandoning
fundamental principles," said Anwar.
It was during this session that several individuals
from the Malaysian Students Department or High
Commission took pictures of the participants -
probably to enforce the prior warning that sponsored
students should not attend any programs with Anwar.
When Anwar began a session especially for Malaysians,
he said that those individuals should find better
things to do than just snapping pictures or detailing
those attending the program in order to take action
against those students.
"There's no problem if the government sends out Pak
Lah or Najib to come and rebut all my arguments
tomorrow, but it's absurd that students in London
should be treated like this," Anwar lamented.
One wonders what were in the minds of the now
red-faced individuals who were caught snapping
pictures of the audience -- but at the end of the
event they met Anwar personally. I don't know what it
was they said to Anwar.
Another student quizzed Anwar in a rather
straightforward manner: "You have never specified
which party you will join since you have been
released. There is a credible theory that you might
eventually join UMNO where Pak Lah will use you as a
buffer against Najib."
Anwar smiled, and said, "Well, if I wanted to rejoin
UMNO I will not criticise them the way I have since
have been released. I have been clear that I will
pursue the agenda of reform and hope to unite the
opposition to achieve that task."
The same student then asked, "Why did you support
Mahathir in 1987 instead of Ku Li for the UMNO
Presidency?"
"At that point of time," replied Anwar, "I was still
convinced of Mahathir's vision of developing the
economy, eradicating corruption and instilling Islamic
values, the same vision that convinced me to join UMNO
in the first place. Ibrahim (Ali, who was there)
supported Ku Li instead. But, as you know, Mahathir
won by just over 40 votes, and if I manoeuvred the
Youth wing to support Ku Li, Mahathir would have
lost".
Anwar was also asked about his stand on the ISA,
especially at the time of Operasi Lalang in 1987.
Anwar replied that he was the only government official
in Parliament to state on record the need for the ISA
to be reviewed. But, as a lone voice, he said, he
couldn't achieve much. He did admit that he cannot
absolve himself from all the excesses of the system
since he was part and parcel of the system, but he
said that his commitment to help the worse-off and
create a more democratic Malaysia can be seen from his
days as a student activist, in ABIM, in UMNO and now.
"Let's look to the future," said Anwar.
Some say Anwar says one thing now while he said the
opposite when he was in government. This is not true.
As an example, consider what Anwar said on 8 December
1992 at the Institute of Southeast Asean Studies in
Singapore.
�As our societies grow more prosperous, it is
inevitable that there will be increasing demands for
greater openness and participation in societal and
political processes. In the context of our plural and
multicultural societies, we therefore have to learn to
exercise greater tolerance in the face of diversity of
opinions and conflicting views.�
�We cherish universal human rights and democratic
values which must be integrated with moral ideals and
Asian culture. What we cannot tolerate, however, are
the evils attendant upon prosperity -- greed,
rapaciousness, corruption and moral decadence.�
�Thus we need to inculcate moral ideals, ethical
practices, transparency, accountability, environmental
consciousness and social responsibility throughout the
entire system of government, business and social
institutions.�
�In the final analysis the progress of integration in
East Asia will be beyond economics. The pursuit of
progress and material well-being does not require us
to abandon the positive aspects of our traditions.
Neither must we tenuously hold on to everything from
the past, particularly those unjust, wicked and
retrogressive feudalistic practices.�
�If I can summarise our quest: It is towards an East
Asian society, dynamic yet peaceful, prosperous yet
caring, harmonious yet robust, free yet disciplined,
liberal and tolerant yet fully moral and ethical.�
Overall, many who attended the event of last Saturday
were happy to be able to meet Anwar. There were some
students -- probably fifteen in all -- who dared
attend in spite of the intimidation as threats, as
well as the photo-snapping officials. One student said
that she was nervous and still expects to get a
warning for attending the event.
For the rest, it was a welcome sight after the
political crisis of 1998 to be able to see a healthy
and convivial Anwar after what he and the country had
suffered. A Singaporean journalist who later went to
personally meet Anwar said that Anwar was a fresh
voice for change -- different than the uptight
Mahathir or PAP leaders which had interviewed before.
If only the Malaysian authorities could accept such a
refreshing change....
Azril Mohd Amin
MA Human Rights 2005/06
MA Human Rights 2005/06
Institute of Commonwealth Studies
University of London
University of London
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