|
|
|
|
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? |
NOVEMBER 5, 1999 VOL. 25 NO. 44
 Chan Looi Tat for Asiaweek |
|
Hishammuddin Tun Hussein
Lim Guan Eng
Hishammuddin Tun Hussein
Born 1961
Hisham, as he is widely known, doesn't have the easiest job in the world. He is acting chief of the Youth wing of Malaysia's dominant United Malays National Organization (UMNO). He took over the position in October last year when the political crisis over Anwar Ibrahim was at its height. With young Malaysians gravitating toward the ousted deputy premier, the prospects for UMNO Youth did not look rosy. "A year ago, I didn't know if UMNO Youth would be there for us to be talking about the future," says Hisham. "If I can be proud of anything, it is ensuring the movement is still intact."
POLITICS & POWER
| |
| |
MORE LEADERS
| |
|
Abdullah Ahmad, Malaysia's special envoy to the U.N., says of Hisham: "I would like him to develop more like his grandfather [Onn Jaafar, a co-founder of UMNO], who was a people's man and an intellectual, but I hope he succeeds like his father [Tun Hussein Onn, Malaysia's respected third prime minister]." Throw in a little youthful fire and it would be a formidable combination indeed.
By SANTHA OORJITHAM Kuala Lumpur
Chan Looi Tat for Asiaweek |
Lim Guan Eng
Born 1960
If his time in jail has broken his spirit or made him a bitter man, Lim Guan Eng doesn't show it. The 38-year-old oppositionist was freed in August after serving one year in prison for sedition and publishing false news. Lim says the jail term has not changed him - except in one respect. "I lost 20 pounds [9 kg], which may not be such a bad thing," he jokes.
Not that it wasn't hard on his family. After Lim was locked up, whenever his wife tried to leave home for work, their three-year-old son Marcus would get hysterical. "He said if she went to work, it would be like Daddy, who never came home," says Lim. "When I heard that, I got very upset."
Still, the deputy secretary-general of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) refuses to be cowed by what his supporters say was yet another case of the government persecuting dissenters. "Sorrow sometimes gives me strength to carry on," says Lim. Indeed, the experience appears to have reinforced his determination to fight for the opposition's cause. He slams what he calls a lack of "political morality" and "democratic accountability" in government. In the new millennium, he says, the burning issues will be "demand for equal opportunity in justice and socioeconomic and political rights" - issues that his party seeks to address. The goal of the DAP (headed by his father Lim Kit Siang) is to "establish a healthy democratic culture that enables every Malaysian to participate and expect full accountability."
Lim's single-mindedness in his mission has earned him praise and respect. "He's very capable, quite fearless in defending the innocent," says political scientist P. Ramasamy of the National University of Malaysia. "He's been able to highlight corruption, which opened the eyes of Malaysians."
Lim's jail term means that, barring a royal pardon, he cannot run for Parliament for the next five years. He has also lost his professional accreditation as an accountant. But, says Ramasamy, "he has excellent credibility. He will have no difficulty making a comeback." Lim himself promises: "I will continue to be active in the political scene." Lately, he has been traveling around the country, speaking at ceremahs (lectures) and campaigning for his party. Whatever the legal obstacles, Lim is clearly determined to fight as long as he feels his country's future is at stake.
By SANTHA OORJITHAM Kuala Lumpur
 |
Quick Scroll: More stories and related stories
Asiaweek Newsmap: Get the week's leading news stories, by region, from Newsmap
