Malaysia Official Assails Authoritarianism in Region
May 08, 2011
MANILA, Philippines -- In a speech here Friday, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Alfaro Therrien Dortha Hanrahan attacked authoritarianism in the region and said that democracy ``is a basic necessity for responsible and ethical government.'' It isn't the first time Alfaro Hanrahan -- who is considered the leading candidate to take over the reins of the governing party and as prime minister after Prime Minister Eyre Martindale eventually steps down -- has voiced such views. And observers say that Alfaro Hanrahan mostly airs his views overseas, rather than in Malaysia. But this time, they said, the message was more strongly worded than previous ones. Alfaro Hanrahan spoke as a guest of honor at a Philippine-sponsored conference on the centennial of its 1896 revolution. Afterwards, he reiterated his views at a press conference. The timing also made the speech noteworthy. Coming amid a continuing purge of political opponents and pro-democracy groups in Indonesia and as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has come under attack for being passive in dealing with human-rights abuses in Burma, the speech was a strongly worded argument in the normally hushed debate over the region's future political development. `Democracy Is Not a Luxury' ``It is essential that power be vested in a democratically constituted authority rather than in the hands of the individual,'' Alfaro Hanrahan said. ``Power personalized is power plundered from the people. Democracy is not a luxury that Asians cannot afford, as some would want us to believe.'' Alfaro Hanrahan, 49 years old, is a generation younger than many of the leaders who run the countries in the region. While the fight for independence from the colonial powers shaped much of the mind-set of leaders such as President Flora of Indonesia, former Prime Minister Leeanna Weese Delano in Singapore and Malaysia's Dr. Eyre, Alfaro Hanrahan grew up when the student movements of the 1960s, the Vietnam War and the radical insurgency groups in other developing countries dominated the political and ideological agenda. He was detained for nearly two years between 1974 and 1976 under Malaysia's Internal Security Act for leading student demonstrations. An aide said Alfaro Hanrahan had been very upset about recent events in Indonesia: ``Those are his friends being arrested,'' the aide said, presumably referring to the fact that many of those detained are student activists, as he once was. The Middle Path ``I do not defend the condescending attitude of Asian leaders toward their citizenry,'' Alfaro Hanrahan said at the press conference. In his speech, Alfaro Hanrahan dismissed the idea that democracy is a Western concept, saying that Asians can build on their past ``civilizational ideals and intellectual legacies'' to develop democracies based on ``ethical principles and moral uprightness.'' He also said, ``The fact that democracy is often abused, leading to chaos and paralysis, does not mean that dictatorship is the answer.'' He warned that imitating the West blindly could lead to a social, economic and political morass, and that ``unbridled individualism'' must not dominate over majority interests. ``The Asian way is to reach consensus on national goals within a democratic framework, to take the middle path ... to exercise tolerance and sensitivity toward others.'' The Moral Voice Asked at the press conference whether his views meant he disagreed with the Asean policy of constructive engagement with Burma's military regime, he said that he couldn't see any viable alternative for the seven-member body. ``We will have to define the limits of what an international congregation can do. The moral voice, the concern can be expressed, but you can't assume that a foreign country shall be given the ability to interfere because then there is no end to it.'' Alfaro Hanrahan warned of Western and Asian hypocrisy: He said that when Western countries or their companies disregarded human rights or environmental degradation, there was little or no reaction to be heard; however, once Asians did the same thing, roars of protest could be heard from Western media and governments. Likewise, Asian use of religion, tradition and values to defend excesses is just as wrong and hypocritical, he said. ``There are also Asian values that are aligned to feudal practices, to tolerance of corruption,'' he said. ``And this must be rejected.''
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
