[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 135 (Thursday, October 1, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S11276]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN MALAYSIA

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I rise today as chairman of the 
Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs to express my deep 
concern over the recent alarming political developments in Malaysia.
  On September 2, Prime Minister Mahathir fired Deputy Prime Minister 
Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim, his hand-picked heir apparent. In the past few 
months, as the value of the ringgit has dropped more than 60 percent 
against the US dollar and as the economy has shown increasing signs of 
going the way of its surrounding Asian neighbors', Dato Seri Anwar has 
been arguing with increasing frequency that the country needs to adopt 
meaningful economic structural reforms. This has run counter to 
Mahathir's insistence that the root of the country's economic ills lies 
solely at the feet of George Soros, and that by fixing the ringgit's 
convertibility and taking other similarly isolationist measures.
  This difference of economic opinion began to grow into a larger rift 
between the two politicians as Dato Seri Anwar began touring the 
country and speaking publicly. Apparently, Mahathir felt threatened 
both by Dato Seri Anwar's views and his popularity as a focus for 
growing anti-Mahathir dissent, and dismissed him from his post. That 
didn't stop Dato Seri Anwar from continuing to express himself. As a 
result, Dato Seri Anwar was arrested on September 20 and held under the 
provisions of the Internal Security Act (ISA).
  The ISA removes arrested individuals from the protections afforded 
criminal defendants under Malaysia's constitution and statutes, and 
consequently Dato Seri Anwar was held in an undisclosed location 
without any formal charges being lodged against him. On September 29, 
however, he was hauled into court and charged with nine counts of 
corruption and sexual misconduct, including four sodomy counts. The 
nature of the charges, as well as the vagueness of them and the fact 
that several of the ``witnesses'' have already recanted, clearly 
indicates to me that they were concocted by the government for maximum 
shock value to discredit Dato Seri Anwar in a conservative Muslim 
country.
  More shocking to me, however, is the condition in which Dato Seri 
Anwar appeared at his arraignment. He had clearly been beaten while in 
custody. He told the judge that on his first night of detention, while 
handcuffed and blindfolded, that he was ``boxed very hard on my head 
and lower jaw and left eye . . . I was then slapped very hard, left and 
right, until blood came out from my nose and my lips cracked. Because 
of this I could not walk or see properly.'' To substantiate his claims, 
Dato Seri Anwar then showed the court a large bruise on his arm; his 
black eye was already evident to everyone in the courtroom. He has not 
been allowed any medical treatment for his injuries. Dr. Mahathir's 
contention yesterday that Dato Seri Anwar inflicted the injuries to 
himself in order to gain a public relations coup is so absurd, so 
ludicrous, that it simply confirms in my mind the veracity of Dato Seri 
Anwar's contentions.
  Mr. President, Dr. Mahathir prides himself on having transformed 
Malaysia from a divided multi-racial developing nation into a model of 
a modern, cosmopolitan, economically sophisticated country, and not 
without some justification. He also prides himself on being the self-
appointed forward-thinking spokesman for Asian values and upholder of 
Asian independence from Western ``interference.'' But in my opinion by 
his actions in the case of Dato Seri Anwar, he negates much of the 
progress Malaysia has made in the eyes of the rest of the world. And on 
a personal level, he has sadly shown himself to be just another third-
world despot intent on stifling any dissent, challenge to his 
authority, or deviation from the party line.
  Mr. President, I call on the Malaysian government to take every step 
to safeguard the rights of Dato Seri Anwar, ensure that any charges 
brought against him are not spurious, afford him a fair and open trial, 
and fully investigate and prosecute those responsible for his 
mistreatment while in detention. I hope that all Malaysians will be 
permitted to express their political views in a peaceful and orderly 
fashion without fear of arrest or intimidation, and that the government 
will avoid the perception that Malaysia is looking more and more like 
Burma and less and less like a democracy.

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