Malaysian democracy activist arrested
By Khatijah Abdullah
KUALA LUMPUR — Tian Chua was at a thankyou party for volunteers of the Asia Pacific People's Assembly on November 21 when news reached the gathering that a pro-reform demonstration had started in Kampung Baru, in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.
The demonstration was small compared to those on previous weekends, when hundreds and sometimes thousands gathered to support Malaysia's ousted deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, and call for the resignation of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
At the party, Tian was reminded that sources close to the police had disclosed that Zainal Abidin Ali was out to get him the minute he "stepped out of line". (Zainal was the officer who illegally arrested and detained participants of the second Asia Pacific Conference on East Timor on November 9, 1996.)
Tian, a well-known human rights and labour activist, and chairperson of the new Coalition for People's Democracy, was not deterred. He went to Kampung Baru, a Malay heartland, with others from the party, arriving at around 11pm.
The demonstrators had been dispersed by police using dyed chemicals at least an hour and a half earlier. Journalists and photographers had been denied entry to the area, a sure sign that police would be using force there.
As Tian was walking away from the mosque where the demonstration had been held, he was surrounded by five plain-clothed police and dragged into a black police truck.
Some friends, including Suaram coordinator Elizabeth Wong and Bloomberg news agency journalist Eugene Tang, who were near Tian, demanded to know the identity of the officers and whether Tian was being arrested. The police ignored their demands and transferred Tian into a white van, where he was manhandled and punched in view of Wong.
Tian was held for 36 hours before being brought before a magistrate. Malaysian law states that a detainee must be brought before a magistrate within 24 hours.
On November 23, the police obtained an eight-day remand order for Tian and three others arrested on the same night. One of the reasons the police gave for holding Tian longer was that a Chinese being in a predominantly Malay area was suspicious.
Tian had been illegally arrested and assaulted by police some weeks earlier.
Tian's arrest, though more premeditated than most, is just one of hundreds that have taken place since the pro-reform movement swelled as Anwar was first sacked from government and expelled from the ruling coalition UMNO, then charged with sodomy and corruption and arrested.
The demonstrations began as huge gatherings at Anwar's private residence.
In time, Anwar led his supporters onto the streets in a show of defiance (any gathering of more than three without a police permit is illegal) which was tolerated.
While the demonstrations, initially held in Independence Square in Kuala Lumpur, were predominantly Malay-based, they quickly evolved into a multiracial, multi-sectoral show of dissent against Mahathir's power. The size of the demonstrations, and the call for the prime minister to resign, were unprecedented in Malaysia.
Once Anwar was detained, the police started to arrest and disperse demonstrators with water cannons (laced with chemicals) and tear gas. This did not stop the demonstrations, which continued every Friday after the Muslim prayers and then became a permanent feature on Saturdays.
The location of the demonstrations had by then moved to a busy shopping street in Kuala Lumpur.
The police started to beat up demonstrators and passers-by. By the time the demonstrations moved to Kampung Baru on October 24, the people's anger at the police erupted into violence. On November 14, the violence escalated when two police motorbikes were burned and a scuffle between demonstrators and special branch officers ended in the police firing live ammunition in warning.
It has become the norm for police to arrest people and pick up those whom they deem to be ringleaders of the reformasi (reform) movement. On one weekend, 237 people were arrested.
Despite the violence and constant threat of police brutality and arrest, the demonstrations have not abated. As one observer put it, "There is more anti-Mahathir sentiment than pro-Anwar support in these demonstrations now".
While this may be true, the renewed struggle for more democracy in Malaysia is still dominated by the Malay-based reformasi movement; the other races are less in the limelight, though still involved in pushing the limits.
There is no doubt that the very Malays who supported Mahathir because they benefited most from his policies are now the ones questioning his leadership and mandate. That the middle-class Malay population is involved in the movement will prove instrumental in any change of leadership in Malaysia. Even within UMNO there is a new tension which threatens Mahathir's presidency of the party.
The reformasi movement seems to have lost some momentum as of last weekend. It lacks strong leadership for the time being, and the demonstrations may be less frequent.
But Anwar's trial, and the recent admissions by police at the trial that they have been using coercion on detainees, will keep the issues alive.