Thousands Continue Protests in Malaysia

Thousands of demonstrators demanding reform clashed with police in Malaysia for a second day Monday, challenging the authority of their autocratic prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, the longest-serving leader in Southeast Asia.

The clash in Kuala Lumpur, which came as Queen Elizabeth II was presiding over closing ceremonies at the 16th Commonwealth Games a few miles away, upped the ante in a dispute that started when Mahathir fired and arrested his deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, whom the demonstrators support.

Anwar, 51, was dumped Sept. 2 in a power struggle with the 73-year-old Mahathir amid allegations of sexual improprieties, attempted murder and corruption, all of which Anwar denies. Rather than go quietly, Anwar toured the country denouncing Mahathir. He was arrested at his home Sunday.

Although few diplomats dare predict how the challenge to Mahathir’s 17-year rule will play out in a country where dissent is unheard of, there was in Malaysia an unmistakable echo of events in nearby Indonesia. A popular reform movement in Indonesia toppled President Suharto in May after 32 years in power.

In both cases, there was an aging leader who brooked no criticism, unruly demonstrators on the streets shouting for reform, and a once-robust economy that had turned sour. But most political analysts still doubt an Indonesian scenario in Malaysia.

In Indonesia, Suharto’s fate hung on whose side the army would take; it ended up abandoning him. But Malaysia’s military is not politicized and will support whomever is in power. Also, Mahathir’s corruption and nepotism is far less grievous than Suharto’s, and there is no groundswell of hatred for Mahathir as there was for Suharto.

With Mahathir exercising absolute control of the press, Anwar has no public forum to either defend himself or press his case for reform. Two men have pleaded guilty to engaging in sodomy with Anwar. Sodomy is a crime in Malaysia, a Muslim country, and local newspapers have been full of steamy details provided by the government.

Anwar is charged under the Internal Security Act, which allows detention without trial. Anwar’s wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, said she doesn’t know where he is being held.

Anwar, who had not uttered the word reform until three weeks ago, has had a hard time making his argument that the Mahathir government has mismanaged the economy and is comparable, as he charged, to the Nazi Gestapo. As finance minister and deputy prime minister, he played a major role in shaping official policy.

On Monday, with police helicopters buzzing overhead, officers chased mobs of protesters down side streets and blocked roads in Kuala Lumpur. Several thousand more demonstrators took to the streets in other parts of the capital.

Although conceding that more arrests are likely, Western diplomats said it is impossible to know whether the call for reform will take popular root as it did in Indonesia, or fade away now that its leader is in jail.

But given the widespread strife in economically troubled Southeast Asia, the envoys agree that events in Kuala Lumpur are worrisome.