Jakarta Globe
By Nivell Rayda
He praised former presidents B.J. Habibie, Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Sukarnoputri for their roles in helping the democratization process in his country, but Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim stopped short of adding incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to the list.
Speaking at a public lecture at the Indonesia Jentera School of Law on Saturday, Anwar noted the Yudhoyono administration’s silence on the Malaysian government crackdown on the July 9 opposition-backed rally for electoral reform in Kuala Lumpur.
On that day, about 8,000 protesters defied riot officers in the Malaysian capital to push toward a stadium where they had initially planned to hold the rally, prompting the government to seek to seal off parts of the city.
Police descended upon the rally, firing teargas canisters.
Malaysian police said 1,667 people were arrested during the protest. As police stations became overwhelmed with detainees, the government began rounding up protesters in sports facilities.
Anwar himself was injured in the protests and his bodyguard hit in the face with a teargas canister.
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other rights groups condemned Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s approach to the rally, organized by a group calling itself the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, or Bersih 2.0, and his heavy-handed policing.
Despite being this year’s chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Indonesia’s leaders remained silent on the issue.
“I understand that Indonesia is engrossed in domestic problems,” Anwar said in response to a question posed by an audience member about Indonesia’s role in promoting democracy in Malaysia.
Anwar said that without directly intervening in Malaysian politics, the Yudhoyono administration could make an impact on the region and the Muslim world by safeguarding the outcomes of the reformasi movement that ousted President Suharto.
“Indonesia is a fine example of how a regime change can happen and democracy [can be] established without bloodshed, military intervention or foreign pressure,” he said.
He expressed regret that 13 years since the fall of Suharto, many Indonesians felt the reform movement was straying from its purpose of clean government, and were beginning to think life was better under Suharto’s 32-year rule.
“Indonesia owes it to the people who poured their tears and sweat and blood for democracy. They also owe it to many developing countries who see Indonesia’s struggle for democracy as an inspiration,” he said.
Teuku Faizasyah, the president’s spokesman for international affairs, said Indonesia was focused on domestic issues.
“Indonesia does not want to interfere other countries’ internal problems. There is also a lot going on domestically [in Indonesia] and they are our main priorities,” he said.
The president, as chairman of Asean, had only been engaged in issues in other countries that had potentially damaging implications for the region, such as the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia and promoting democracy in Burma, he said.
Hariyadi Wirawan, an international relations expert from the University of Indonesia, said recent tensions between Indonesia and Malaysia had forced Indonesia to take a neutral stance.
“Local politics is always a very sensitive issue and intervening could see relations between the two countries further deteriorate,” Hariyadi said.
Indonesia’s ties with Malaysia have fluctuated over the years, dating back to the time of the country’s first president, Sukarno, who protested the establishment of then Malaya in 1961, calling it “a puppet country of the British empire.”
In recent years, the ill-treatment of Indonesian migrant workers by their Malaysian employers, as well as border spats and Malaysian claims to items of Indonesian cultural heritage have fanned the flames.
Last year, a survey by the Indonesian Survey Circle found that 59 percent of respondents in 100 villages across Indonesia disliked Malaysia, higher than the 46 percent who harbored negative views of the United States.
But Anwar said he believed the international community would support Malaysia’s struggle for electoral reform.
“The principle of justice is universal. I believe that for the same reason I have supported people like Aung San Suu Kyi [in Burma] and Nelson Mandela [in South Africa], the international community will not tolerate injustice, anywhere in the world,” he said.
Despite the violent crackdown on anti-government rallies, Anwar said Bersih would not give up its struggle.
“The crackdown is a turning point and more people are considering that political reforms are the only way forward. That is what people in Malaysia are saying on social media,” he said.
“I believe in the people of Malaysia. The Malaysian media and the government may have labeled me as a threat to the country and accused me of being a pawn for Zionists and the United States, but I believe the people can’t be fooled.”
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