Meeting the Piglet Threat

Malaysia is a federation of 13 states with a parliamentary government that theoretically is contested by several widely contrasting parties. In reality, the National Front coalition has held power since 1957, and its leader, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir ben Mohamad, has busied himself trying political rival Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy and obstruction of justice after the latter denounced the government for firing him.

This, of course, is a distraction from Malaysia's economic problems: The ringgit lost roughly a third of its value in the year ending September 1998. This economic strain is an exception in a decade that has seen "strong economic growth [that] has led to significant reductions in poverty, an improved standard of living, and more equal income distribution," according to the State Department's human rights report.

U.S. arms sales in the Clinton years Direct government sales Government-approved sales (scale in millions of dollars)

Several organizations have noted Malaysia's human rights problems. Vice President Gore made the most recent waves at November's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference, saying, "Democracies have done better in coping with economic crises than nations where freedom is suppressed". Before that, the State Department had wagged a finger at Malaysia for "continu[ing] to arrest and detain citizens without trial, and prolonged pretrial detention". Amnesty International flagged the country's persecution of the indigenous population (over land rights) and "deviant" Muslim sects, as well as opposition figures for crimes like spreading "false news" that criticized the regime.

In spite of U.S. criticism, its recent economic troubles, and relatively peaceful neighbors like Thailand, Malaysia still managed to find enough money to buy (or be permitted to buy) a little more than $1.95 billion in arms from the United States. Marquee items included five C-130 Hercules transport aircraft from Lockheed Martin, but that contract is almost overshadowed by Boeing's big score: eight F/A-18D Hornet fighters tricked out with an alphabet soup of ordnance, including dozens of AIM-7M Sparrow, AIM-9S Sidewinder, AGM-65D Maverick, and AGM-84A/C Harpoon air-to-air missiles.

Why would Malaysia need an air force this powerful? Maybe because we're arming their neighbors (Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand). Maybe because, as Amnesty International reports, the government needs to further intimidate the 14 religious deviants recently held without trial for six to nine months. Or to underscore the beatings, kickings, and even deaths of 500 undocumented Indonesian immigrants in 1997. Or show the U.N. that its special rapporteur, Malaysian citizen Param Cumaraswamy, would face a lot more than the loss of his treaty-guaranteed immunity from prosecution if he kept questioning the independence of Malaysian judges and lawyers.

Or perhaps the deputy home minister needs air support for his proposal to punish those guilty of "holding illegal sales, manufacturing fake medicine, selling adulterated gasoline, and importing piglets without a license."

-- Paul D. Kretkowski

Flags courtesy of World Flag Database