Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times, Barry Wain [best mystery novels of all time .txt] 📗

it ten bonus votes. The number of votes that could be gathered through nominations almost equaled the number of ballots cast by delegates in the actual election. If that was not enough to dissuade rivals, the rules were altered again so that presidential candidates had to be nominated by at least 30 per cent of UMNO's divisions. Dr. Mahathir was allowed to appoint the head of the party's youth and women's wings, a temporary expedient that was reversed a few years later to allow elections again for both posts.[86] Amendments in 1998 allowing the triennial party elections to be postponed for up to 18 months gave Dr. Mahathir even more room to re-order adverse circumstances to his liking. And there would be no recourse to the courts again over voting irregularities: Legislation passed in late 1989 gave political parties the final say over the interpretation of their constitutions.

According to political scientist John Funston, "under a Malaysian version of 'guided democracy', Dr. Mahathir frequently asked for, and was granted, full power to make decisions on contentious party issues".[87] By the time the General Assembly arrived each year, everything of note had been settled, right down to the detail of Dr. Mahathir's telling key delegates what was expected in pre-assembly, closed-door sessions. What the public saw was a staged performance designed to reinforce the image of unity behind Dr. Mahathir's leadership, with his presidential and summary addresses broadcast live to the nation.[88]

By continuing to permit rivalries in UMNO one level below him, Dr. Mahathir countered pressures for a generational shift in the party's leadership and kept the focus of succession away from himself. As Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim, 46, prepared to dislodge Ghafar Baba, 68, from the deputy presidency in 1993, Dr. Mahathir shifted from a plea for no contest, to a neutral stance, to a comment that was interpreted as an endorsement of Anwar, his obvious choice to succeed him. Anwar marshalled such a show of strength before the General Assembly that Ghafar had no choice but to step down. Anwar not only became vice president unopposed; he also brought to power a slate of three vice presidents known as the Vision Team, while other followers captured most seats on the Supreme Council.

The results signalled danger for Dr. Mahathir, though also a warning for anyone tempted to try and exploit the situation, for Dr. Mahathir had shown he was politically astute, even lethal, when seemingly cornered. Analysts calculated that Anwar probably had enough control of the party to force Dr. Mahathir into early retirement before long, if he so chose. Dr. Mahathir was testy when asked by journalists if he was losing his grip on UMNO. "Would you like to bet?" he retorted. He made his point about still being boss by waiting a month before officially making Anwar deputy prime minister. In another move to circumvent Anwar's advancement, he appointed Muhyiddin Yassin, who topped the vice presidential poll for Anwar's team, to a junior portfolio. Clearly not confident, though, Dr. Mahathir invoked party unity as a higher cause than democracy and insisted on a "no contest" agreement with Anwar for their positions before 1999.

Although their relations were strained at times, Anwar was still on track to succeed Dr. Mahathir as of early 1998, but complications that arose over the deepening effects of the Asian economic crisis wrecked transition plans. On 2 September, a day after introducing capital controls, Dr. Mahathir sacked Anwar as deputy premier and finance minister, claiming he was morally unfit. The real reason was that he believed Anwar was trying to take advantage of the economic upheaval to unseat him. On 3 September, the UMNO Supreme Council complied with Dr. Mahathir's demand that Anwar be stripped of his deputy presidency and party membership. On 20 September, Anwar was arrested under the ISA and held without access to a lawyer or his family. When he appeared in court at the end of the month, charged with abuse of power and sodomy, he had a black eye, the result of being bashed in custody.

Dr. Mahathir had learned from 1987, when the ruling political elite fractured over the Tengku Razaleigh-Musa challenge. By removing immediately any possibility that Anwar could make a return to UMNO politics, Dr. Mahathir was able to carry the party's top leadership with him. But lower level leaders and the party rank and file, as with Malay society and the country at large, were numbed, disbelieving and alienated. Several hundred thousand members abandoned UMNO in protest to join PAS or Keadilan, a new party established by Anwar's wife.

In making Abdullah Badawi deputy premier, Dr. Mahathir implicitly drew attention to the toll that his prolonged, iron rule had taken on UMNO. As one study noted, he had defeated in masterful fashion every threat to his rule, burying in succession the dynamic and talented Musa, Tengku Razaleigh and Anwar.[89] In doing so, he had eliminated from the party just about any possible successor approaching their calibre. Almost no younger leaders had been promoted, apart from Anwar, not even through UMNO Youth. With the leadership pipeline clogged for so long by Dr. Mahathir, he turned to Abdullah, an experienced but bland former civil servant, who had sided against Dr. Mahathir in the 1987 split. Abdullah was 59, scarcely representing the hope of regeneration in a party in deep trouble.

Appalled by the humiliation of Anwar, the Malays routed UMNO in the 1999 general election. While the National Front secured its two-thirds majority in Parliament, winning 148 of 193 seats, UMNO had its worst result ever. Its representation fell from 94 seats to 72, with four ministers and five deputies being defeated.

UMNO's problem went beyond numbers. No longer able to claim confidently majority Malay support, the party's very legitimacy was in doubt. The best estimates put UMNO's share of the Malay vote at between 40 and 50 per cent. While most UMNO leaders advocated reforms to both party and government policies to meet public demands for improved governance that focused on Anwar's