Even as the Indonesian regime was about to make the startling announcement that East Timor would be given a choice between greater autonomy within Indonesia or becoming independent...
About a decade ago, people in Malaysia had little choice but to rely on the tightly-controlled government media. There was no Internet, nor Harakah, the popular bilingual tabloid published by the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS).
Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamed must be getting a sinking feeling that events are fast slipping out of his control. This is not to suggest that the Malaysian judiciary, press or the police have turned against him.
So despised is Uncle Sam globally that too close an identification with him can spell the death-knell for any political figure, especially in the Muslim world.
If prime minister Mahathir Mohamed believed that by dismissing Anwar Ibrahim and accusing him of moral turpitude would destroy his reputation, the people of Malaysia have proved him dead wrong. Showing uncharacteristic defiance, the people have held massive rallies in support of Reformasi, the reform movement launched by Anwar.
Amid uncharacteristically strong defiance, the people of Malaysia have kept the tempo of demonstrations despite the arrest of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim last month.
Malaysia has been taken by storm since Anwar Ibrahim, the relatively youthful former deputy prime minister, was unceremoniously sacked on September 2.
Anwar was brought to court with a swollen eye and bruises on his right arm, the result of being severely beaten by police when he was first arrested ten days ago.
Displaying characteristic brutality, personnel of the Indonesian armed forces (ABRI) shot and injured several students in front of the parliament building in Jakarta on September 7.
Dr Amien Rais has been credited with initiating the downfall of president Suharto in Indonesia. Leading the largest Islamic organisation - Muhammadiyah - he is considered a potential successor to B J Habibie in the next elections under the ‘reformasi’.
‘Reformasi’ or reform, has become the rallying cry of opponents of prime minister Mahathir Mohamed in Malaysia since his unceremonious sacking of deputy prime minister and finance minister Anwar Ibrahim on September 2.
Most Muslims would probably have a hard time explaining where exactly Acheh-Sumatra is. This is not entirely their fault.
B J Habibie, appointed president of Indonesia upon Suharto’s ouster from power in May is beginning to enjoy himself. The change of guard has led to claims in some circles that he reflects the Islamic sentiments of the nearly 200 million people scattered across the vast archipelago.
The deportation from Malaysia of ‘illegal immigrants’ turned violent on March 26 when a number of refugees were shot and killed in police firing at Semenyih camp in Selangor.
It was not too long ago that the term Melayu Baru was the buzz word among the intelligentsia. In the mid-199Os, practically everyone was talking about the great social and cultural phenomenon known as the ‘New Malay’ generation.
The process of selecting a president by the People’s Consultative Assembly in Indonesia lasting 11 days beginning on March 1, had already been decided last May. The 1,000-member assembly is a rubber-stamp body which simply confirms what the ruling Golkar Party wants.
Flushed with success at containing and nearly crushing the communist insurgency in Thailand, the Thai military has turned its heavy guns against the Muslims of South Thailand.
Barely a month ago, pundits from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were proclaiming from every soapbox how Southeast Asian leaders had ignored their warnings about an economic meltdown before the house collapsed on them.
The struggle to establish an independent Islamic State in Mindanao, southern Philippines, is far from over even if peace talks are underway with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
