REACHING CRITICAL MASS

Viewpoint One writer on Anwar's options

{Strange Bedfellowslink to biz 5)} Economic advice from a surprising source

THE AUTHORITIES DID EVERYTHING they could, short of resorting to force, to prevent the evening rally. The meeting hall where the gathering was supposed to take place was padlocked and the electricity disconnected. Local radio stations continually broadcast that a police permit had not been issued for the meeting. When the crowds began to form, the police told them to disperse as the speaker was probably not going to turn up - and even if he did, he could not address them since he did not have clearance to do so.

In the end, though, the pulling power of the speaker prevailed. By 10 p.m., some 20,000 people had congregated outside the meeting hall, undeterred by the fact that there were no lights and it was pitch-dark. A collective cry of jubilation greeted the speaker, the recently sacked deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, as he climbed atop his parked car with a microphone. While the crowd chanted, "Reformasi, reformasi! [Reforms, reforms]," Anwar lived up to his reputation as a fiery orator. "I want to wipe out corruption!" he told his cheering supporters. "I will never give up!"

To an outsider, the Sept. 13 rally - which took place near the southern town of Malacca and was part of a quick weekend tour of three states by Anwar - might have seemed like a relatively tame exercise by an ousted leader in making a few political points. But in the Malaysian context, the meeting and others like it are nothing short of a direct confrontation with the government. While political rallies are allowed, no more than four people can assemble in public without a police permit (larger gatherings at home can be held without informing the authorities). Opposition parties conduct their meetings indoors in assembly halls and even those need a permit, which isn't always forthcoming. The rules are relaxed only every five years, when campaigning for general elections takes place.

Now Anwar is shaking up this state of affairs. Two weeks after he was controversially fired by PM Mahathir Mohamad amid unsubstantiated allegations of sodomy, adultery and treason, the onetime student activist is continuing to attract huge crowds in his (technically illegal) rallies across the country. A day before the Malacca gathering, Anwar was in Pokok Sena in Kedah state, less than 10 km from Mahathir's birthplace and constituency. At least 60,000 people turned out to see him. "I am really reinvigorated by the Kedah crowd," a sleepy-eyed Anwar later told Asiaweek. "I expected a big crowd, but we also knew it was the PM's area. The numbers we got were amazing, way beyond our wildest expectations." He adds: "After I have been charged and tried in the local media, it is heartening to see that rural folks don't believe in government propaganda."

Anwar, who maintains that the accusations against him are part of a high-level conspiracy by his political enemies to frame him, says he has been forced to take his case directly to the people because he has been given no chance to rebut the allegations, which local newspapers have been giving daily coverage to. Anwar now plans to take his road show farther afield, visiting such states as Kelantan and Sabah. "As long as I am allowed to, I would like go around the country and explain why we need reforms now," he says.

That Anwar's campaign seems to be gaining momentum has not escaped the notice of Mahathir's United Malays National Organization, the most powerful party in the ruling coalition. "The rallies are getting bigger and Anwar is becoming a concern," says one ranking UMNO leader. "But who knows how many of these guys are genuine supporters and how many are curious onlookers? This will fizzle in a month or so, or as soon as specific charges are laid against him."

That sentiment is shared by many other UMNO leaders, who are expecting Anwar to eventually fade away into political oblivion. Without the perks and privileges provided by the party, a politician cannot last long in Malaysia, as can be attested by former deputy PM Musa Hitam and former finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. Both men spent years in the political wilderness following their failed bid to unseat Mahathir in 1987. A former UMNO MP points out, however, that Anwar belongs to a different breed. "Anwar is not like Musa or Razaleigh," he says. "He is a street fighter like Mahathir."