Another Middle Eastern despot has bitten the dust. Another chapter in the world's history has ended and it would be wise for Malaysia's own tyrants to take full and due note of the inevitable that is sweeping the globe - change, democracy and people power.
Muammar Gaddafi, for all his brave words and stated intention to “go down fighting”, appears to have gone down pleading; if reports of his last words are to be believed. He had apparently shouted “don’t shoot! don’t shoot!” as he was dragged out of his hideout in Sirte today, by a Libyan NTC fighter. We will have to wait for a final confirmation of course; the fog of war still surrounds this news and the NTC has been wrong before.
Gaddafi had plenty of chances to come to an accommodation over the past few months but chose to go on the run; standing against the combined forces of Libyan rebels and NATO. The writing on the wall, it would seem, becomes hard to see when you’ve been living in a tent for too long. One is tempted to investigate the psychological profile of Arab dictators who persist in fighting doomed wars. Saddam too was fond of oratory ungrounded in reality. During the first gulf war he promised the forces ranged against him “the mother of all battles” which turned out to be a headlong retreat to Baghdad.
Gaddafi would have been surrounded by advisers who told him what he wants to hear, changing their advice based on how he reacted to it with glance or grimace. One can safely assume that those who would have given unbiased advice would long ago have been culled. Such is the nature of power held too long by one party, and even worse when accompanied by the cult of the individual. And Gaddafi had been in power for 42 years. Losing power would have been unthinkable to him and to his hangers-on.
In Syria events appear to be unfolding in uncanny similarity to Libya. The people protested peacefully, the government cracked down unnecessarily harshly including the use of live bullets resulting in many deaths. Instead of stopping the protests, this caused them to spread all over Syria. The government then used tanks and heavy weapons against its own people to try and crush the protests. Now, reports indicate that Syrians are beginning to arm themselves to fight the state. It is Libya all over again. Yet the Syrian government shows no indication of having learnt from Gaddafi’s errors; and seems intent on repeating history.
Compared to Libya and Syria, Tunisia and Egypt’s leaders showed less inclination to use mass deadly force against their own citizens, though violence there certainly was.
GE-13 to mark a new beginning
Malaysia, half a world away, despite having close ties to the Arab nations through religious, cultural and educational ties, has always decided on its government through the ballot box. The problem in the past has been that the elections themselves have not been fair with the BN government using various methods to assure themselves of a win not reflective of the people’s wishes. This has resulted in successive governments that are essentially dictatorships. And if Malaysia has had a dictator, it was Mahathir Mohammed, who ruled for 22 years; stifling dissent and undermining the nation’s institutions. His megalomaniacal projects included, among others, the tallest building in the world, and a brand new administrative capital, Putrajaya, in the middle of nowhere.
It has become more difficult for BN to manipulate the elections in West Malaysia, though the recent elections in Sarawak was a highly questionable one. Election observers were banned from entering the state, an unnecessary maneuver if it was a fair election, as claimed by the Sarawak’s state government. The government also controls the press and broadcast media but have been blindsided by the Internet’s reach. Official media channels, simply by being too one-sided to the BN, have rendered themselves useless as they are no longer at all trusted. This trend is clear in their circulation numbers, with the NST and Utusan Malaysia going to the extent of giving their copies away for free.
The General Elections in Malaysia, expected soon, may put an end to yet another dictatorship; one that has lasted even longer than Gaddafi’s brutal, lunatic rule, for the Barisan Nasional has been in power for more than 50 years.
Muammar Gaddafi, for all his brave words and stated intention to “go down fighting”, appears to have gone down pleading; if reports of his last words are to be believed. He had apparently shouted “don’t shoot! don’t shoot!” as he was dragged out of his hideout in Sirte today, by a Libyan NTC fighter. We will have to wait for a final confirmation of course; the fog of war still surrounds this news and the NTC has been wrong before.
Gaddafi had plenty of chances to come to an accommodation over the past few months but chose to go on the run; standing against the combined forces of Libyan rebels and NATO. The writing on the wall, it would seem, becomes hard to see when you’ve been living in a tent for too long. One is tempted to investigate the psychological profile of Arab dictators who persist in fighting doomed wars. Saddam too was fond of oratory ungrounded in reality. During the first gulf war he promised the forces ranged against him “the mother of all battles” which turned out to be a headlong retreat to Baghdad.
Gaddafi would have been surrounded by advisers who told him what he wants to hear, changing their advice based on how he reacted to it with glance or grimace. One can safely assume that those who would have given unbiased advice would long ago have been culled. Such is the nature of power held too long by one party, and even worse when accompanied by the cult of the individual. And Gaddafi had been in power for 42 years. Losing power would have been unthinkable to him and to his hangers-on.
In Syria events appear to be unfolding in uncanny similarity to Libya. The people protested peacefully, the government cracked down unnecessarily harshly including the use of live bullets resulting in many deaths. Instead of stopping the protests, this caused them to spread all over Syria. The government then used tanks and heavy weapons against its own people to try and crush the protests. Now, reports indicate that Syrians are beginning to arm themselves to fight the state. It is Libya all over again. Yet the Syrian government shows no indication of having learnt from Gaddafi’s errors; and seems intent on repeating history.
Compared to Libya and Syria, Tunisia and Egypt’s leaders showed less inclination to use mass deadly force against their own citizens, though violence there certainly was.
GE-13 to mark a new beginning
Malaysia, half a world away, despite having close ties to the Arab nations through religious, cultural and educational ties, has always decided on its government through the ballot box. The problem in the past has been that the elections themselves have not been fair with the BN government using various methods to assure themselves of a win not reflective of the people’s wishes. This has resulted in successive governments that are essentially dictatorships. And if Malaysia has had a dictator, it was Mahathir Mohammed, who ruled for 22 years; stifling dissent and undermining the nation’s institutions. His megalomaniacal projects included, among others, the tallest building in the world, and a brand new administrative capital, Putrajaya, in the middle of nowhere.
It has become more difficult for BN to manipulate the elections in West Malaysia, though the recent elections in Sarawak was a highly questionable one. Election observers were banned from entering the state, an unnecessary maneuver if it was a fair election, as claimed by the Sarawak’s state government. The government also controls the press and broadcast media but have been blindsided by the Internet’s reach. Official media channels, simply by being too one-sided to the BN, have rendered themselves useless as they are no longer at all trusted. This trend is clear in their circulation numbers, with the NST and Utusan Malaysia going to the extent of giving their copies away for free.
The General Elections in Malaysia, expected soon, may put an end to yet another dictatorship; one that has lasted even longer than Gaddafi’s brutal, lunatic rule, for the Barisan Nasional has been in power for more than 50 years.
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