The Malaysian Insight

PUTRAJAYA must not dismiss the youth-led street rallies as it may usher in groundswell that threatens the government’s legitimacy, political analysts and civil societies said. 

Referring to the #TangkapAzamBaki protest that took place on Saturday, they said despite a small turnout, the protest showed that the public, especially youth, were unhappy with the country’s governance.

The fact that a heavy police presence and the closure of multiple roads and LRT stations did not stop the rally from taking place was a testament to their will to stand their ground, they said. 

Others however hold the view that no number of rallies would make Putrajaya revamp its current style of governance or tackle corruption head on.

International Islamic University of Malaysia’s Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar said the protest should not be dismissed as insignificant.

“Concerns over bad governance are real,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“These rallies are powerful in ushering in groundswell that may threaten the legitimacy of the government and its institutions.

“Despite all the efforts by police to stop the rallies, the fact that they went on as planned showed that there is a strong urge among the brave youth to voice out their grievances in the open.”

The #TangkapAzamBaki rally was organised by civil society groups and the youth wings of several opposition parties following the controversy surrounding Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki.

The protesters demanded the arrest of the chief commissioner following his alleged purchase of millions of shares in 2015 and 2016.

The rally started at 11am and ended at 12.45pm, with several hundred participants who gathered at the Bangsar LRT station.

Last year, youth group Sekretariat Solidariti Rakyat organised four street rallies to voice their displeasure against the government.

The first was the July 3 #BenderaHitam protest on social media, in which Malaysians were encouraged to post photos of them flying a black flag on social media networks as a sign of dissatisfaction towards the Perikatan Nasional government under the leadership of former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

This was followed by a small #Lawan protest at Dataran Merdeka on July 17, a black flag vehicle convoy on July 24, and a larger scale #Lawan protest at Dataran Merdeka on July 31. 

At these events, black was the signature colour, as was the hashtag #KerajaanGagal (failed government).

On August 19, the group held a candlelight vigil for the victims of Covid-19, which ended with the arrests of several participants.

Cynthia Gabriel, executive director of the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism, said it was refreshing to see youth take to the street despite the threat of arrest. 

“It’s really energising and hopeful to see young people coming out in droves, not afraid of police intimidation and overkill reactions from the authorities.

“A real bright spark of hope in this endless darkness Malaysia has experienced in recent times,” she said.

Every youth vote counts

Transparency International Malaysia president Dr Muhammad Mohan warned Putrajaya to pay attention to what was going on as these youth would soon be added to the electoral roll. 

“Putrajaya should not only take them seriously as there are more than five million new young voters coming in but also look towards institutional reforms. Institutional reforms are key to turning Malaysia around,” he said.

Since the inclusion of Undi18 voters and automatic voter registration, registered voters in the country have swelled to 20.6 million, of which more than five million are youths. 

The addition comes after Kuching High Court ordered the government to implement Undi18 legislation by December 31, 2021, after agreeing with a legal challenge filed by five Sarawak youths to an attempt by the previous government – led by Muhyiddin Yassin – to shelve its implementation.

The Constitution (Amendment) Act 2019 – informally known as Undi18 – lowers the minimum age of voters and electoral candidates from 21 to 18. The Act also included automatic voter registration.

Putrajaya won’t change

However, James Chin, an Asian studies expert at the University of Tasmania, was of the view that no number of street rallies would make the government change its ways. 

“It really doesn’t matter what the protesters want. Putrajaya has more or less decided that it is going to ignore all the protests. 

“What they are waiting for is for the controversy to die down. After a short period they will ask Azam to resign. 

“They cannot do it now as they cannot be seen to be giving in to public pressure. It’s quite clear that Azam’s reputation is tarnished.”

The issue has been politicised, so the truth doesn’t matter anymore, Chin said.

Chin said the current administration was also no different from Barisan Nasional (BN), which governed for 60 years.

“There will be no revamp of the current system. This government is similar to the old BN model. They (MACC) will not clean up the government.

“The reason is MACC has always been used as a political weapon. It is part of the problem, not the solution.” 

Once the Azam issue dies down, Malaysians will return to life as it was, he added. 

“After this controversy dies down, they will move to something else. Azam will be replaced and everyone will be happy and it will be back to business as usual.” 

Azam is currently embroiled in a share ownership scandal, which led to the protest demanding for his arrest. 

He is said to own 2.15 million shares in Excel Force MSC Bhd in 2015, as well as 1.93 million shares in Gets Global Bhd the same year and 1.02 million shares the following year. At this time Azam had been MACC’s director of investigations. 

Azam had told the MACC advisory board, which cleared him of wrongdoing, that the shares were bought by his brother Nasir using his trading account. 

The Securities Commission’s inquiry found that Azam had opened, owned and operated his trading account, disputing his own account that his brother used his account. – January 24, 2022.