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Web-only Exclusives
November 30, 2000

From Our Correspondent: Hirohito and the War
A conversation with biographer Herbert Bix

From Our Correspondent: A Rough Road Ahead
Bad news for the Philippines - and some others

From Our Correspondent: Making Enemies
Indonesia needs friends. So why is it picking fights?

Asiaweek Time Asia Now Asiaweek story

'WE DO TRY TO REFORM'

UMNO Youth's acting chief talks about change, and Anwar


Politics is in the blood of Hishammuddin Tun Hussein. His great-grandfather was the first chief minister of Malaysia's influential Johore state. His grandfather was a founder of the United Malays National Organization, the country's dominant political party. And his father was a prime minister. Hishammuddin has yet to reach such heights, but, at 37, he is a deputy minister and, more importantly, acting chief of UMNO's powerful Youth wing. He took over that job last October when Youth leader Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had to step down for his then links to ousted deputy PM Anwar Ibrahim. While Hishammuddin, a British-trained lawyer, is firmly in the establishment camp, he is not insensitive to calls for change, as he indicated in an hour-long talk with Correspondent Santha Oorjitham.

How do you read the mood at the grassroots regarding the Anwar case?

It is clear sections of our community are angry, frustrated, confused, and it applies on both sides. There are people on the side of those who are shouting for rights, whether it is justice, freedom, blah, blah, blah. There are also those, on the part of the party, who feel we have not been aggressive enough. They also should be shouting and screaming for their rights. The balancing of the two is the responsibility of the leaders. I've been on the ground at [UMNO] divisional meetings in the last few weeks and I genuinely feel that our grassroots and UMNO members are looking at the bigger picture, at how we ensure that institutions - whether it's the party, parliamentary democracy, the judiciary, the police - can be preserved for future generations.

The question of reform, the question of reassessment or re-evaluation of whatever institutions we have, is not the sole monopoly of those who have been shouting in the streets. We have been doing that in our party since Independence, since the party was formed. We've been through so many crises, one after the other, and at each point, when we go through these crises, we do reassess, renew, we do try to reform, but with the bigger picture in mind. The most important thing now is to find out what the grievances are. For my constituents in Tenggara, Johore, the [lower] price of rubber is the biggest concern. Some think the [Anwar] trial is the biggest problem. For an NGO, the rights of the individual are important. Somewhere else, it might be the right to shelter and a stable environment. We have to address all these concerns.

Anwar has been sentenced to six years' jail. Some lawyers say that with a conviction, other charges are usually dropped. Yet Anwar is now being tried for sodomy.

Either way [we] can't win. If we don't proceed with the sodomy charge, people will say, "Look, he was sacked without just cause. The charges which involved sodomy and the sexual allegations were amended and all the evidence was expunged. So there must be another motive." But now there is the allegation of duplicity, that once you have a conviction on one, you proceed [with remaining charges]. For the people who want to find sensational issues, of course it's a no-win situation for us. But I think we did the right thing. It's a process that has to go through the courts. At the end of the day the public is going to scrutinize it; the international media will scrutinize the system. The important thing is that it helps to find the truth, and the credibility of the judiciary depends on that. UMNO Youth is watching it as closely as you are.

Are you also watching for elections?

We are acting as though elections will be in four to five months. I must admit we are gearing ourselves up. There are a lot of allegations thrown at our leaders, our party, about the credibility of the government. Some of them are slanderous, outright lies. We have to counter that. An example right now is this book Shit by our National Laureate. He is a role model. Coming from somebody who is responsible to a generation of young aspiring writers, it is not a very good example to set. He has crossed the line. For the opposition, like Pas [Parti Islam SeMalaysia], to condone it and try to justify it in the context of Islam or Malay culture, is atrocious.

Talking about the opposition, what about the new National Justice Party?

I don't know what they stand for. I would like to know where they stand on the National Economic Policy, the National Development Policy [the NEP's successor], Malay rights, their viable alternative to the [ruling coalition], their concept for leading a multiracial and multireligious country, how they expect to balance the rights of the community with the rights of the individual, which they keep harping about.

Your aunt heads the NJP's women's wing.

It just shows we have a very democratic system. That's nothing new in the family. I had an uncle who was vice-president of Semangat '46 [an UMNO breakaway faction], who is now back in the fold. We all have our own reasons, our own ways of expressing our concerns. I respect her as an aunt. As an oppositionist, she remains in opposition. Politics is politics, but we remain a very tightly knit family.

Some Muslim voters have said that, as Muslims, it is their duty to vote Pas.

Why would you want to vote opposition? There is no such requirement in Islam. The right to promote a progressive, tolerant, pragmatic Islam is not the sole prerogative of Pas. We have been doing that in the past. The Constitution states that the official religion is Islam. It's clear, no matter who comes into power, whether it's Pas, the NJP or UMNO.

Some Muslim voters have also said they can only vote for Muslim candidates.

That's worrying. It has got to be impressed on them that this sort of politics can't go on. These are very dangerous issues. They might be attractive to some, juicy to others. But the majority of our people are mature and realize that we have to live together. The little cohesiveness that exists is fragile. If we leave it as it is, it will blossom. But if people manipulate or exploit, then it will turn into something the opposite. Once the damage is done, it's too late to remedy.


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