highlights from aliran monthly – issue 8, 2003

i subscribe to aliran magazine and i find the magazine very interesting. therefore beginning from this month, i’ll be highlighting what the aliran magazine has to offer, taken from their mailing list. (alirankn-subscribe@yahoogroups.com)

i have not received this month’s issue yet from the post but from the highlights they gave, it seems to be a pretty interesting issue this time as it focus on the retirement of our PM. further, this month’s issue has articles from dr francis loh and anil netto, two friends i know from church. i don’t know the former actually (and he doesn’t knows me) but just know his name i mean but had been to one of his talk before. but i do know anil and he knows me too, though rather formally. the one person i know well (also church friend) is none other than martin jalleh, who many of you might know is a very good writer, esp. his poems. martin is a very popular speaker in our church and is very sought after by all groups in our church for seminars and conferences. he is also a very funny humorous guy who is cheerful and friendly. (in one of his session with us, he made us laughed until all of us were in tears, and some said until they suffered ‘stomach ache’).

oops.sorry for digressing. coming back to aliran magazine, oh yeah it mentioned in this issue, anil writes about the anti-rape demonstration in penang. hey, i was there! so go get a copy of aliran now as who knows you might get to see my picture there.

———————————–

Editor’s note – issue 2003:8

===============
Please support our work by buying a copy of our print publication, Aliran Monthly, from your nearest news-stand. Better still take out a subscription now. subsribe to aliran
===============

In this special issue, we focus on Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s 22 years at the helm. Amidst talk of ‘continuity in policies’ after October 2003, the cover story by Khoo Boo Teik comments on how Abdullah Badawi may act to distinguish his ‘new’ administration from the ‘old’ one led by Dr M. Abdullah may ironically find himself indebted to Reformasi for having commenced the ‘de-Mahathirisation’ of the political system.

In a balanced evaluation of ‘Mahathir’s economic legacy’, our back cover story by Jomo K. S. discusses a chequered 22-year record of experiments, flaws, crises and escapes against a background of changing global conditions.

Four other articles underscore the undemocratic nature of Mahathir’s long reign. Lawyer Charles Hector discusses the transformation of a previously independent judiciary into a pliant one especially since the 1988 judicial crisis. Former CUEPACS leader A. H. Ponniah recalls Dr M’s dealings with the labour movement and exposes how unions have become elitist organisations linked to the PM himself. In assessing Dr M’s 22 years, Muzaffar Tate concludes that he was essentially a “benevolent despot”, while Andrew Aeria chides him for his heavy handed ways and grandiose projects.

Francis Loh then looks at the prevailing political culture, challenging the myths that many believe explain Malaysia’s success. The secret, he argues, is Malaysia’s people – decent and tolerant, hardworking and responsible. We shall continue to do well in the post Mahathir era.

Read also the account by Anil Netto of an anti-rape demonstration in Penang.