THEY were studying aerospace engineering and economics, but dropped out of university to become part of a movement for change that finally came 20 years later.

For varsity students in 1998, the Reformasi movement, born out of Anwar Ibrahim’s sacking from the government, jailing and sodomy trial, was their awakening to politics in Malaysia.

The 18-day period between Anwar’s sacking on September 2 and arrest on September 20 was a pressure cooker of daily ceramah that led to a massive street demonstration that sent hundreds of protesters to jail.

Rahmat Haron, who was 21 then, said Malaysian students were inspired by the anti-Suharto protests in Indonesia that took place at the same time. Anwar’s sacking took their anger up a notch.

Rahmat genuinely thought that by demonstrating against the Malaysian government then, during Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s first tenure as prime minister, Anwar would be freed.

“It was naive to think that demonstrations would be able to bring an end (to the government then). That by simply going out for maybe half a year, the government would give up,” he said in an interview on the 20th anniversary of the Reformasi movement.

“That was naive. But it was what I had in mind,” said Rahmat, who was studying economics at Universiti Malaya, but chose to drop out in his final semester.

He said he was also influenced by Dua Wajah, authored by Syed Husin Ali, who later became PKR deputy president, on being incarcerated under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

Former aerospace engineering student Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainudin, better known in activist circles as Jonah, said the 18 days of marathon ceramah were critical in spurring the masses to take to the streets on September 20, 1998.

During those 18 days, as Anwar repeatedly explained his sacking to crowds, the word “Reformasi” entered the lexicon of Malaysian politics.

“Anwar succeeded in making people like me (understand and) support the Reformasi agenda. He defined and sold reforms to the people,” said the former Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) student, who quit his studies in favour of activism.

Jonah was detained under ISA for 23 days in 2001, and described the confinement as “real torture”.

“It was mental torture.”

The government’s treatment of Anwar, who was beaten in prison, and the arrest of protesters were also the turning point for Jonah’s parents, as well as many other Malays who had long supported Umno.

“It was so for my dad, especially. From that day, he started to leave Umno. He was active, but only at the local level,” said Jonah, who was 24 then.

“I think he could not accept that his son was arrested.”

Amin Iskandar, then 18, was undergoing matriculation for an accounting degree at UPM, and knew little about politics or activism before Reformasi erupted.

But, the downfall of Indonesian president Suharto in May that year triggered students to support the local Reformasi movement when it came about four months later.

“We noted that in Indonesia, the movement was led by students, and they managed to kick Suharto out. We were influenced by that,”said Amin.

“And then, Anwar got sacked, and his people launched a reform movement. A lot of students at the time were influenced by the movement.”

He admitted that he joined in somewhat spontaneously and without much thought, but added that he gained priceless lessons about politics and the country.

“Slowly, it was no longer about Anwar. There was injustice, and Malaysians were starting to feel it.”

20 years on

After his sacking, Anwar held ceramah at his home in Bukit Damansara before going on a tour around the peninsula to explain his arrest.

Amin, Jonah, Rahmat and many other student activists attended the ceramah, daily.

The rallies were organised by the former deputy prime minister’s core supporters, who wanted him to clear his name of the allegations thrown at him.

But, Anwar’s family did not agree to the idea of a nationwide tour. They did not want him to leave the house, for fear he would get arrested.

PKR veteran Shariffuddin Budin, 58, said there was a clash of views between supporters and Anwar’s family members.

“With a lot of people coming every night (to the house in Bukit Damansara), we (supporters) thought he should leave the house (to speak to more people).”

Finally, Anwar himself convinced his family to let him hold rallies beyond the house compound. He kicked off the first such ceramah in Kg Baru, before moving on to other states in the peninsula.

There were even plans for him to go to Sabah and Sarawak, but these never materialised as he was arrested, said Abdul Malek Hussin, who knows Anwar from their days together in influential Muslim youth group Angkatan Belia Islam.

Malek, 62, said Anwar’s first arrest was the biggest mistake by the government, in terms of gaining the people’s support.

But without it, he said, the desire for reform and change might never have been sparked.

Both Shariffuddin and Malek were detained under ISA, for 30 and 57 days, respectively.

Twenty years later, the anniversary of Anwar’s arrest was when Najib Razak was slapped with 25 charges involving illicit funds he received and disbursed.

Historic for being the first time a former Malaysian prime minister has faced criminal charges, it follows another first – when Malaysians voted out Barisan Nasional on May 9.

But the journey for continued reforms has not ended, said Shariffudin, as governments must always be kept in check. – September 21, 2018.