Issue cover-dated 24th May 2001 

           Anwar's Children 

           Ten opposition leaders have been jailed. Are Malaysians outraged? Well, not really 

           By Lorien Holland/KUALA LUMPUR 

           OPPOSITION LEADER Mohamad Ezam Mohamad Nor was on a roll. Across the country, crowds of
           several thousand people came to hear his charismatic speeches attacking government bailouts and
           cronyism. Support was growing. 

           The one-time political aide to former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim talked of building up political
           awareness and organizing more rallies. He said that by keeping the government on its toes, his fledgling
           National Justice Party, or Keadilan, and its allies stood a chance of winning the next election in 2004. 

           His fiery words were enough to spook the authorities. In April, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's
           government silenced Ezam and nine like-minded activists by arresting them under the Internal Security
           Act, which suspends normal judicial process and allows for indefinite detention without trial. Under the
           ISA, the home affairs minister must either release prisoners or sign a two-year detention order after 60
           days. Ezam's deadline is June 9. 

           Mahathir's public justification for using the ISA was that the opposition leaders were amassing weapons
           for violent protests, and a pre-emptive strike was necessary for national security. He pointed to
           demonstrations in Indonesia and the Philippines and said he would not tolerate similar disturbances.
           "They could have been arrested under normal laws but normal laws require certain evidence and
           procedures and processes, which I suppose from the police point of view is not effective in preventing
           something from happening," he told reporters. 

           A month later, the 10 are still in jail. No evidence has been revealed to support the allegations against
           them. None of them have been allowed access to a lawyer and only some have seen their families. The
           ruling coalition has blocked motions to discuss the detentions in parliament. 

           Nonetheless, Mahathir's gamble with the ISA is paying off, because he does not appear to have paid a
           high political price for silencing his most vocal critics. While protests from the opposition and
           non-government organizations are slowly multiplying, public indignation so far has been decidedly
           underwhelming. And the political establishment, while indicating it does not wholeheartedly condone the
           crackdown, has nonetheless fallen into line. 

           "Certainly, people are not jumping mad," says Penang state assemblyman Toh Kin Woon, who is on the
           record as opposing the detentions even though his party is a member of the ruling coalition. "It is difficult
           to know what is the balance of forces, as people may be concerned about expressing their opposition in
           public, but I don't get the impression that there is a lot of adverse reaction." 

           The media has also done little to rock the boat. Even The Star, which was temporarily shut down for its
           stance against a rash of ISA detentions in 1987, has toed the government line. Like other mainstream
           newspapers, it has not questioned the arrests or allowed the opposition a voice, and has given prominent
           coverage to the violence in Jakarta and Manila. 

           NEWS BLACKOUT 

           Lim Guan Eng, vice-chairman of the opposition Democratic Action Party, says there is an "effective
           news blackout" keeping the press silent on the detentions. "We have to rely on the Internet and word of
           mouth and pamphlets distributed in the street," he says. 

           Lim insists that the political tide is turning against the government, following a series of events from the
           jailing of Anwar in 1998 to the bailing out of politically connected companies this year, which have
           alienated significant segments of the population. 

           But that has yet to translate into pressure on Mahathir to release the detainees. Even Malaysia's Human
           Rights Commission has been unable to force the police to allow visits, though it has the statutory
           authority to do so. 

           Syed Husin Ali, a member of the recently formed Abolish ISA Movement, which includes political parties
           and 76 non-government organizations, concedes that momentum has been slow to gather. He says a
           series of political gatherings will kick off on May 18, and culminate in a rally in Kuala Lumpur in early
           June to mark 60 days of detention for Ezam and the others. 

           "The allegations against these people are very serious and totally unfounded . . . otherwise they would
           charge them in court," Husin says. The one-time ISA detainee also refutes government claims that
           violence was brewing comparable to that in Indonesia and the Philippines. "Things are different here, as
           people here are aware of the need for peaceful assembly and our meetings are always peaceful." 

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