Saturday Nation
Date: 05.09.2015
Page 13
Article size: 286 cm2
ColumnCM: 63.55
AVE: 130288.88
Lessons from Malaysia and why people
always choose protests despite brutality
As Malaysian Prime Minister
from 1981­2003, Dr Mahathir
Mohammed was not exactly
known for supporting human rights.
He concentrated power in his office,
weakened the judiciary, used ethnic
divide and rule tactics and deployed
the notorious Internal Security Act
specifying them or what they got in
return for such generosity.
Mahathir called for the resignation
of the PM saying "the only way the
people to get back to the old system
is for them to remove this prime
minister," adding that"...to remove
him, the people must show people's
to detain critics without trial and in­
power." Wow! Someone who loathed
timidate dissenters.
peaceful assemblies and criticism
He was also a leader of the "Asian
whilst in power now finds himself
values" campaign in the 1990s that
using the same rights he trampled
tried to denigrate the universality
on. But therein is the power of
of human rights, claiming Asians
human rights. The rights to assem­
had their own value system that ne­
ble, expression, association, and
gated universal human rights­much others are necessary for the power­
like the selfish "African values"
less and marginalized. They need the
campaign started by some African
rights, to challenge those in power
autocrats. The campaign failed as
abusing and fleecing them.
proponents were unable to explain
Of course the powerful detest pro­
what disentitled Asians to rights
tests and mass­action, for they are
such as expression, fair trial, asso­
shown up, ridiculed and challenged
ciation, assembly, and right to vote.
in public, which hurts their huge
So it was a huge surprise when
egos. So they have been fighting
Mahathir turned up at a massive
back, using all manner of restrictive
demonstration last weekend in the
laws and practices against assem­
capital Kuala Lumpur protesting al­
blies, and also against civil society
leged corruption by the government
organizations which are often at the
led by his one­time protege Najib
forefront of agitation for the weak,
Razak. The scandal started when the
powerless and marginalised.
media discovered that Prime Minis­
Indeed, repressive governments
ter Razak had $700 million (about
frequently use the argument that
SI171.564 billion!!) in his personal ac­
people should use "other" channels
counts, suspected to have come from
to express their grievances. But they
the debt­ridden state­funded Malay­
know, as Mahathir illustrated by
sian Development Berhad—which he
turning up at the rally, that the deci­
chairs. The Malaysian anti­corrup­
tion commission later claimed the
sion to come out to protest­often
funds were from "donors" without
in the shadow of anticipated police
brutality­is a last resort used when
these "other" channels fail.
Protests are being held across the
world where the people power has
been turned on the authorities de­
nouncing their actions or omissions.
We can expect more protests over
the next years, as governance contin­
ues its global deterioration. We will
see more protests, globally, around
the exploitation of natural resources,
land disputes, environmental pro­
tection and wildlife conservation,
migration, corruption, xenophobia,
racism, and marginalisation. And
of course we can expect protests
around the "normal" issues of abuse
of power, police brutality, and elec­
tion fraud.
The fact is that peaceful protests
are the most effective way of hold­
ing authorities accountable between
elections. The powerful often sug­
gest that opponents and dissenters
should await the next elections to
voice their views, knowing that the
results of elections are frequently
already pre­determined. But a de­
mocracy is known not just by the
fact that regular elections are held,
but by what happens between elec­
tions, and by how accountable the
authorities are between elections.
Peaceful protests may be disrup­
tive, raucous and messy. But the
alternative of violent conflict is far
worse as Syria has shown. We don't
have to like what peaceful protesters
demand, but we need to keep the
spaces open, for who knows when
we will need it?
Ex­Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohammed
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya
Saturday Nation
Date: 05.09.2015
Page 13
Article size: 286 cm2
ColumnCM: 63.55
AVE: 130288.88
By design,
the so­
called
other
channels
to pass
complains
never work
and mass
action
remain the
last resort
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya