Talking Reformasi: Reformasi made human rights mainstream

K. Shan was a 22 year old law student when the then deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was sacked and later arrested. These events exploded into the so-called 'Reformasi' movement.

But as a law student, his immediate reaction was of cynicism. This was Umno politics after all and a continuation of a string of controversies surrounding Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the Prime Minister at that time and the party.

10 years before this in 1988, was the 'Constitutional Crisis' that saw the sacking of Lord President Salleh Abbas and a year before that was the mass arrests of activists, educationists, and politicians in the infamous Operation Lalang. Even members of the ruling Umno government were not spared arrest.

So the only concern for Shan was the impact these events would have on human rights. Was this another attack by Dr Mahathir Mohamad on human rights.

Coincidentally 1998 also marked turmoils in Indonesian politics as Suharto resigned as President and Vice-President Habibie took the reigns of power. This followed the 1997 Asian economic 'flu' that saw emerging tiger economies of South East Asia in ruin. Protesters there also used Reformasi as their slogan -- calling for institutional reform, accountability and human rights which protesters here aped.

This is K Shan's take on the Anwar fiasco of 1998/1999.

Video by: Shufiyan Shukur