THE Reformasi movement that began with the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim exploded into the national consciousness this day in 1998 with his arrest, a massive street rally in Kuala Lumpur, and  hundreds of protestors thrown into jail.

That episode is now considered to have birthed a major shift in the Malay mindset, said Malay activists and supporters of the movement at the time.

Dissent spread and reached critical mass within the community who no longer felt afraid to challenge and question the authority Barisan Nasional had held over them for six decades.

Abdul Malek Hussin, who was 42 when the movement gained momentum in 1998,  said the Reformasi movement’s most significant legacy was to shift Malay thinking from being focused on race and religion then to inclusivity now.

He said up until then, Malaysia’s political landscape had been dominated by the battle between Umno, representing extreme Malay nationalism expressed in Ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy), and PAS, propagating Islamist ideology to advance its politics.

“There was no third option for Malay voters. Reformasi shaped a new way of thinking among Malays – that politics could celebrate differences as part of Malay values,” Abdul Malek told The Malaysian Insight in an interview on the movement’s 20th anniversary.

The year 1998 brought great “release” to the Malays, whose freedom peaked in the ousting of BN in the 14th general election in May, he said.

“Over the years, Malays began to see that they no longer had to vote for a party that was fighting only for the race and religion. They saw other options,” said Abdul Malek, was detained under the Internal Security Act in the tumult in 1998. 

The events leading to the sacking of Anwar trace back to the Asian Financial Crisis in in 1997 where the ringgit plunged to half of its former value. 

Dr Mahathir rejected external assistance but Anwar who was also the Finance Minister then was keen on getting help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Anwar was sacked in Sept 2 1998 from his posts in the government as well as Umno on grounds of homosexuality. The Malay community, already angered by his treatment at the hands of Dr Mahathir, grew more furious when he emerged from prison after his arrest with a black eye, courtesy of a beating by then inspector-general of police Rahim Noor.

The following year, the 1999 general election saw Malay support slip for BN, which held on to federal power thanks to the Chinese vote. That election, the party born of Reformasi, Keadilan, contested as the new opposition and won five seats. It later became PKR.

Dismantling ‘Ketuanan Melayu’

Student activists at the time saw the shift in mindset taking place and pushed forth a narrative urging Malays to be open in accepting other cultures and religions in Malaysia.

Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainudin, also known as Jonah, said the government’s actions at the time and the way it used state institutions to do its bidding showed many Malays that injustice had a universal impact, and that justice was meant for everyone.

“(Reformasi) opened up their eyes and gave awareness on the need to be tolerant and that race-based politics is not good. To me, that was its biggest contribution,” he said. 

Jonah said he and other friends who became activists during that period had spend their childhoods and adolescence in entirely Malay communities.

He was 21 when Reformasi happened and it made him realise that racist thinking would never let the country progress.

Another former activist, Amin Iskandar, felt Reformasi had helped Malays shed the traditional thinking that they always had to be loyal and faithful to their leaders.

“We should thank Dr Mahathir for sacking Anwar because otherwise everything could have stayed the same. 

“The positive side to the tragedy of 1998 is that it opened up the minds of many people, especially the younger generation. Now more Malays are talking about things like freedom of the press,” said Amin, who was 18 when he delivered his speeches at the many ceramah then. 

First lesson in democracy

After Anwar’s sacking, he held several ceramah at his home in Segambut before embarking on a tour of Peninsular Malaysia to talk to the people about the injustices done to Anwar.

PKR veteran Shariffuddin Budin, 58, said Anwar’s supporters were afraid that many would fall for the sodomy allegations against Anwar as the topic was sensitive and taboo to Malay-Muslims.

Anwar was also accused of sodomy, and both allegations put him in a bad light as he was regarded as a leader well-versed in Islam. In his younger days, Anwar had been a leader with Angkatan Belia Islam (Abim), a dynamic and influential Muslim youth movement.

“We had to plan the daily ceramah to see if people, especially Malays, believed the allegations. 

“And when we saw the crowd increasing daily, we knew then that they did not fall for any of it,” Shariffuddin said.

Shariffuddin, who is also known as Hunter, said Malays were a timid people before Anwar’s arrest, but after that, they were inspired to fight injustice.

Another former student activist Rahmat Haron said Reformasi was for many people the first lesson in democracy on taking ownership of the country.

“The change that took place in 1998, and now in 2018, was never about an individual. It was never about just Anwar or Dr Mahathir. 

“It was not about any person or individual but it was about the collective where everyone played their part,” he said. 

The emphasis on the collective versus the individual is again seen today, Rahmat added, in the cooperation between the two former enemies, Dr Mahathir and Anwar, who have joined forces to bring down the BN under Najib Razak. –  September 20, 2018.