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September 03, 2004
The freeing of Anwar Ibrahim
The release from prison of Anwar Ibrahim yesterday produced a predictable response from the man who is responsible for putting him there. Dr Mahathir, whom Paul Keating once described as a 'recalcitrant' is quoted in The Guardian as saying: "I'm not going to lose any sleep ... I still believe that he's guilty. My conscience is clear." But what are the wider ramifications of Anwar's release for the Malaysian political economy? The optimistic view is that it is a clear sign Malaysian Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi, does not plan to interfere in the judicial process. Others, however, are more sceptical, suggesting the main reason for Anwar's release is that he no longer presents the political threat that he once did, and not too much should be read into the PM's magnamity. I, for one, don't think we've seen the last of Anwar on the Malaysian political scene.
Posted by jeremy at September 3, 2004 01:12 PM
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I agree that we have not seen the last of Anwar, but for slightly different reasons. Eastern politics are very different to Western politics in that in the West, generally, very formal processes are followed and as a result the political party is greater than the individual leader. In the East, the individual is often greater than the party. The one historically recent exception is the Communist Party in China, however this is a debate for another day as to whether the individual is greater than the Party (North Korea being a prime example).
So if the Individual is greater than the Party, then 'Anwar' is the major asset or attraction point. Anwar possibly has no other major assets to his name, much like Mandela when he he was released from prison.
Anwar's choice is to either withdraw from public life and probably die from the inside, or alternately he could return to public life and face the possiblity of dying from external causes.
Posted by: Matthew at September 4, 2004 08:38 AM
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