The Melbourne Age 14th August 2000

By TONY PARKINSON INTERNATIONAL EDITOR

Behind bars: a Malaysian protester signs a banner in support of jailed former vice-president Anwar Ibrahim.

Raja Petra Kamaradin pulled up outside the gates of the Sungai Buloh prison yesterday on his Yamaha Virago. As head of the campaign to free jailed politician, Anwar Ibrahim, he had come to join more than 1000 supporters in the single biggest prison visit in Malaysia's history.

Raja Petra is a grey-bearded, pipe-smoking intellectual. He is not a professional agitator. But yesterday, he wore a denim jacket, and arrived on a speed machine. "They call this the Japanese Harley," he said. "It is built for the quick exit."

And, sure enough, there to greet the protesters outside the prison gates were a bank of police, with riot shields and tear-gas launchers. As the protest numbers swelled, police reinforcements were brought by bus from Kuala Lumpur. They brought with them a water cannon.It seemed like overkill. For if this was a mutinous mob, it was very polite in its demeanor.

Women wore headscarves, and carried parasols. There were lengthy prayer sessions. Pigeons were freed from cages. The crowd sang the reformasi movement anthem to the tune of When the Saints Come Marching In.

They said they'd come to celebrate Anwar's birthday. In fact, Anwar turned 53 on Thursday. The real point was a show of solidarity to prove to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad that his treatment of his one-time protege will not quickly be forgotten.

The rally aimed to keep the flame burning under international indignation over the 15-year total sentence Anwar is serving for what is widely believed to be the crime of challenging the authority and power of Dr Mahathir.

As ever, the spotlight fell on Dr Wan Azizah, the genteel wife of the former deputy prime minister. She arrived to rousing cheers accompanied by five of her six children, and her father, Dr Wan Ismail.

Rally organisers were told that once she was inside the prison, the crowd should disperse peacefully - or police would take action. "Let it be peaceful," Dr Azizah cautioned aides.

The Mahathir Government is bristling over the negative international reaction to the nine-year sentence Anwar received on Tuesday after being found guilty of "carnal intercourse against the order of nature". Governments in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Europe have denounced the conduct of the court proceedings.

Dr Mahathir spent the weekend in his native Langkawi, the island resort off Malaysia's north-west coast. But his Foreign Minister, Syed Hamid Albar, argued the criticism from abroad was due to the "sentiment of friendship (with Anwar) not based on facts."

The problem for the Free Anwar Campaign in Malaysia is that Dr Mahathir has a tradition of turning international criticism to his own political advantage.

The protest movement faces significant hurdles. The Internal Security Act counts as unlawful assembly any gathering of more than a handful of people. The movement also lacks critical mass. Keadilan (the Justice Party), headed by Dr Azizah, is largely a political vehicle for the urban middle-class; as recently as two years ago, many of its supporters were members of Dr Mahathir's United Malays (UMNO) party. Keadilan won 12 per cent of the vote at last year's national elections, but only five seats. It is far from a launching-pad for a challenge to UMNO's ascendancy. True political power in Malaysia derives from the 20 million people who live outside Kuala Lumpur.

Here, Keadilan will always struggle. If there is a contest for the Malay heartland, it is between UMNO and Parti Islam Se Malaysia (Pas).Last year, UMNO lost two states to the Islamic party. Keadilan and the Democratic Action Party teamed up with Pas as a coalition, and cut UMNO's level of support from 70 per cent to 56 per cent of the national vote.

Anger and alarm over the prosecution of Anwar Ibrahim was clearly an element. But analysts insist this was no more than a warning shot to Dr Mahathir.

Malaysia's large ethnic Chinese community constitutes 30 per cent of the population. With an aversion to instability dating back to the race riots of the 1960s, the Chinese community fears religious and ethnic divides. Unless the Islamic party changes dramatically in tone and temper, the chances of the opposition parties securing this vote are minimal. On this analysis, Dr Mahathir's grip on power is secure. This leaves Anwar Ibrahim in his jail cell.