October 27 marks the 30th anniversary of Operasi Lalang, where 106 people were detained without trial and the publishing licences of three newspapers were revoked. The episode is a grim reminder of what can happen in the absence of check and balance; a deep scar in the Malaysian psyche. The Malaysian Insight speaks to those who wielded the dragnet and those who were caught in it. 
 
OVER the past 12 months, Dr Mahathir Mohamad has had to answer many uncomfortable questions about his treatment of his enemies-turned-allies.

At times, his replies sounded earnest. At other times, they appeared defensive. More often than not, the former prime minister sounded like a man who would prefer that his critics move on and stop revisiting the past.

But political analysts believe Dr Mahathir and the new Pakatan Harapan coalition he leads need to do more to prove that he is far removed from the leader who oversaw Operasi Lalang.

As the country marks the 30th anniversary of Operasi Lalang, or Op Lalang for short, on Friday, analysts say that the incident that occurred three decades ago must be a reminder of what must never happen again should Dr Mahathir succeed in leading the opposition to victory in the coming general election.

Lalang was the code name given to the police operation which simply meant to weed out the troublemakers.

In 1987, police launched a massive crackdown and arrested 106 political activists, civil rights activists, educationists and religious leaders under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA).

Forty people – most of whom are now Dr Mahathir’s colleagues in PH – were eventually jailed without trial for a minimum of two years. 

Many spent many more years languishing behind bars in the Kamunting detention centre.

Political analyst and political scientist Professor Dr Mohamad Agus Yusof said that Dr Mahathir’s 22 years in power was filled with bittersweet moments, but Op Lalang stood out as a dark blot of his reign.

He said Op Lalang had a far-reaching impact on the freedom to discuss and disagree on issues, and stunted the growth of critical thinking and diversity of ideas especially among students.

“The black episode was when the government under Dr Mahathir violated the political and civil rights of the people. Violated the judiciary, and was allergic to anyone who criticised him, pressuring those who did not agree with him. Those were his political mistakes,” said Agus.

Apart from the arrest of 106 civillans, authorities revoked the licences of three newspapers, The Star, Sin Chew Jit Poh and Watan.

In a White Paper explaining the arrests and shutdown, the government said the crackdown was necessary to tackle rising racial tension created by certain individuals.

The racial tension arose from the Education Ministry’s  decision  to appoint some 100 non-Mandarin speaking supervisors to Chinese-medium primary schools. The move was opposed by opposition lawmakers, students and  Chinese education groups.  

On October 11, 1987, some 2,000 supporters of Dong Jiao Zong, an association of Chinese school teachers and trustees, met in Kuala Lumpur to call for a boycott in Chinese schools. 

Joining the group was MCA deputy president Lee Kim Sai, DAP leader Lim Kit Siang and Gerakan leaders. Despite the boycott being called off, 57 schools went ahead with the strike. Umno youth responded by holding a 10,000 strong rally at the TPCA Stadium in Kampung Baru, led by Najib Razak who was then Umno youth leader.

However, critics have long claimed that Op Lalang was purely a political manoeuvre to stamp out opposition to Dr Mahathir’s leadership.

Political analyst Wong Chin Huat said that while no journalists were arrested in the operation, the shutdown of the three papers had instilled a deep fear in the media industry that still exists today.

“It has successfully instilled fear in journalists and Malaysians at-large to practice self-censorship,” said Wong.

Stepping out from the shadow

Agus said that while the negative effects of Op Lalang can still be felt three decades on, Dr Mahathir has the rare opportunity to make right the mistakes of the past.

“Dr Mahathir needs to use this second chance, if PH wins, to right the mistakes he made while he was in power then,” said the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) lecturer.

He said that Dr Mahathir needs to lead the people to “move on politically to another level”, and leave behind the politics of the past which were defined by fear.

“We need to put out country at the same level as the rest of the world where we celebrate globalisation, celebrate democracy,” he said.

Agus said that through his leadership, Dr Mahathir must encourage dissenting views to allow for wrongdoing in governance to be corrected.

“Even though the government is wrong, we feel we have to defend and justify that wrong. But this means we will never grow.

“If an institution is wrong and we defend it, we will never be able to move forward.

“We must reprimand when something is wrong, and praise when something is right. This is the kind of society we want to build,” he said.

Agus said the leaders of tomorrow, whether it will be Dr Mahathir or prime minister Najib Razak, must accept that the people of today are not like the people of the 1980s during the Op Lalang crackdown.

“People are smarter, it knows how to take care of this country. They can be a lecturer, a pilot, a cleaner, but they all love this country.

“For us to move ahead, and to keep this country safe with no wars, we must respect the civil rights of the people.

“By God’s grace, this will be the foundation on which we will go forward.” – October 22, 2017.