Is Bersih just part of a plot to allow foreign interests to bring about regime change in Malaysia? (Photo by Hussein Shaharuddin/The Mole)
KUALA LUMPUR: As ties between Bersih and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) affiliated with the US government are brought out into the open, concerns about such organisations and their ties to Malaysia's opposition coalition have at least one journalist examining just how apolitical Bersih really is. Writing for Montreal-based website Global Research on April 29, Nile Bowie highlighted the support given to both Bersih and Pakatan Rakyat by various American NGOs, and said, “While concern over electoral corruption and the various legitimate grievances of Bersih supporters may be entirely justified, the coalition’s association with opposition political parties and groups financed by the United States government suggests subversion.”
Bowie pointed out an admission by Bersih chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan last year that the coalition had received funding from the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Open Society Institute (OSI). Bowie also highlighted a New York Times article about US funding of the “Arab Spring”, saying it “reveals organisations such as the National Democratic Institute receive funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a recipient of funds directly from the US Congress.”
“The Bersih Coalition has also received support from the US-based Freedom House, an NGO that receives direct funding from the US State Department,” he said.
Bowie acknowledged warnings by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that foreign NGOs were actively working towards regime change in Malaysia because of the government’s hard line on Israel and criticism of US foreign policy.
In March, Dr Mahathir had highlighted a crackdown on foreign NGOs by the Egyptian government, and named several groups including NDI, the International Republican Institute (IRI) and Freedom House, which he said were funded by the US government.
“US intervention in movements to overthrow the governments of countries that do not share its aspirations is quite clear,” Dr Mahathir said.
“Of course in Malaysia it is also funding NGOs that are committed to bringing about ‘Regime Change’,” he added.
Dr Mahathir had previously said the US and Israel were supporting Anwar Ibrahim as their “candidate for building a puppet government”.
“For a long time now they have fostered a close relationship with Anwar,” he said.
Shortly after Mahathir wrote about Anwar’s ties to US organisations, Malaysian bloggers highlighted letters which bore Anwar’s signature and which were addressed to the president of the National Endowment for Democracy and also to currency speculator George Soros.
Another blogger said Anwar had connections with the Konrad Adenaeur Foundation (KAF) and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), which the blogger said have involved themselves in Malaysia's election process.
The blogger highlighted an Umno press conference during which it was claimed that KAF and NDI "have introduced a 'hate campaign' to antagonise the people against the country's leaders and raise issues that are not relevant. They also do not hesitate to use religious sentiments to arouse feelings of hatred among the people."
"The hate campaign that was born from the ideas and thoughts of KAF and NDI are dangerous and are by nature subversive and subtle," the blogger wrote.
Bowie also highlighted Anwar’s ties to US-funded NGOs.
“Following his stint as Deputy Prime Minister, (Anwar) Ibrahim served as Chairman of the Development Committee of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1998, while appearing on the payroll of Dick Cheney’s Foundation for the Future and George Soros’ International Crisis Group,” Bowie said, adding that Anwar had also “served as a panelist at the National Endowment for Democracy's ‘Democracy Award’”.
The close ties between Anwar and Bersih, Bowie said, make the latter anything but apolitical.
“While the demands of the Bersih coalition appear to be coherent and apolitical, the convergence of its leadership with the opposition political establishment provides Anwar Ibrahim and Malaysia's opposition front Pakatan Rakyat with the means to mobilise demonstrators under the benign common cause of ‘clean and fair elections’,” he said.
Bowie said the violence that took place at the recent Bersih rally was bad for both sides, and could ultimately enable the opposition to grab power from the current government.
“As the United States shifts its military focus to the Pacific Region, Anwar Ibrahim’s adherence to western political institutions will likely warrant the continued nurturing of unrest in Malaysia until the opposition successively usurps power,” he said.