Unspun

Mahathir may be loud, shrill and lack credibility when speaking against the Badawi government for its repression and control of the Press and malaysian society. But this should not detract from the validity of the points raised by Mahathir.

This is former Deputy PM Anwar Ibrahim’s take on Mahathir’s allegations that Malaysia is slipping into a police state. Anwar said this in a press conference that was reported by Malaysiakini.

His observations deserve careful consideration, erspecially among the Malaysian blogging community. If you take a close look at the postings and the comments, most of the time, the discussions degrade into ad hominem attacks of the protagonists (and their alleged henchmen) rather than to address the issues. Following is an excerpt from Malaysiakini (Thanks Celiene for e-mailing me the story):

What do you think of the latest criticisms by Mahathir. Is it more personal or…

I said it is not my interest to rebut on any sort of a personal attack. But there are some of his allegations which involve policy methods. Serious allegations on corruption, abuse of power, nepotism. Issues of his allegation, as a former prime minister of 22 years, that Malaysia is a police state.

This issue must be discussed and deliberated wholly. And there is no point for the government to be in a state of denial, but to deal with the issues substantively. What are the allegations? What are the components or ingredients of a police state? What are the draconian laws in operation? How is the media preaching these issues? Is the judiciary truly independent? And whether we are going to see fair and free elections.

Yes, the allegations in the media is that there were fraudulent acts, there were repressive measures under Dr Mahathir. What we want to know is whether these same measures are in operation or there is a categorical assurance on the part of prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that these will not recur.