The Government Delays Renewing Harakah's publishing licence

["M.G.G. Pillai" <pillai@mgg.pc.my>]

The Government continues to impress Malaysians with its immense ability
to shoot itself in the foot.  Every major decision it has made since
September 1998, when the deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Anwar
Ibrahim, was sacked, is subject to review after it has been made;  those
it would not, damns it further.  The Home Minister's cat-and-mouse game
over renewing the publishing licence of the PAS organ, "Harakah" one
should expect in today's political climiate.  Harakah's sales and
influence frightens the political establishment.  But more serious is
the government's dissembling over this.  Amidst a string of important
decisions it had had to rethink;  and when it did not, as in the Anwar
case, it also fell flat on its face.  The government mishandled the
reconvening of Parliament after the November general elections, and the
second, now sitting, could be well be unconstitutional.  Even the
dissolution of Parliament is contentious.  The official decisions over
Bahasa Baku and the third Saturday holiday had to be refined.  We have
had two Budgets for this financial year.  Harakah's publication licence
is the latest in this litany of political errors of commission and
ommission. 

     It has not, at the deadline yesterday, renewed the PAS' organ,
"Harakah"'s publication licence.  Nor indicated if
it would.  Without it, the printer, under pressure, would not print
it.  The Harakah managing director, Dato' Hishamuddin Yahya, appeals to
the Home Ministry for a decision today, and holds a press conference
this afternoon.  He thinks the officials have decided, but the minister,
Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also deputy prime minister, has
not.  The delay comes after the Home Ministry moved to curb
Harakah sales during the past year and other harrassments that included
 charging its editor and printer for sedition over an article about the
trial of He Who Must Be Destroyed At All Cost.  The twice-weekly
Harakah's sales exceed the daily circulation of the main establishment
papers, and has become the newspaper of choice for many and not just PAS
members; especially since mainstream newspapers function as the National
Front party organs, and devoid of any news that would upset the
political leaders.  Reading them for many is a matter of habit. 

     The move on Harakah underlines the divide within the Malay
community.  UMNO, which dominates the government, cannot accept the
Malay cultural ground distance itself from it.  Its oligarchial leaders
think this could be reversed by force.  Even the May party elections
centres on a rival, who has this ground behind him, and if would
challenge the Prime Minister for the party presidency.  The vindictive
laws, most enacted under British rule but refined and tightened more so
under the UMNO-led government of the past 43 years, are used against
political opponents as a matter of course.  This was once accepted when
the it held the cultural ground.  That is contested.  Which is why it
second guesses every major decision it solemnly makes.  With Harakah,
not just the absence of a decision causes it to stumble.  The Home
Ministry's inefficiency, when the publication is one not imbued with
ideals and worldview of the National Front, is well known;  as its speed
when the government wants to shut them down.  The government's several
fine-tuning of the newspaper's publishing licence to stunt its growth,
but not acting on its one major breach under the law:  the sale of the
paper to non-Members.  It did not act against Harakah as it did on the
DAP organ, "The Rocket".  When it would not, it lost.  It decided, in
Harakah's case at least, these legal restrictions can be worked around. 
Whatever the government's decides now, it has lost:  if the licence is
renewed, the paper would continue with its incisive commentaries on
Malaysian and UMNO politics as no other;  if not, a government under
pressure takes a vindictive decision for no reason than political
self-interest. 

M.G.G. Pillai
pillai@mgg.pc.my