Commentary: Anonymous letters and whistle-blowers persist in modern day Malaysia
Anonymous letters continue to shine a spotlight on certain leaders and call attention to wrongdoing, which can be a positive development as Malaysian civil society matures, says Khor Yu Leng.
(Channel News Asia) – In Malaysia, a surat layang or poison pen letter has traditionally been used to draw the attention of a certain person or group to an individual’s alleged wrongdoing.
But it can be a caustic means to self-interested ends. A form of character assassination, this venomous tool has also been commonly used to discredit a person out of jealousy and envy. By the time the truth surfaces, much damage has been done.
Born out of a culture in Malaysia that emphasises maintaining harmonious relationships and being non-confrontational, it is nevertheless a technique used by some to manoeuvre from behind the scenes, wayang kulit-style.
POISON PEN LETTERS
The use of surat layang is notorious in Malaysian politics for this reason. The annual UMNO General Assembly has borne witness to a number of such letters over the years.
1997 was memorable for a barrage of surat layang and self-published books that expounded on claims in such letters.
In one of the most notorious and salacious cases, letters alleging abuses of power and immorality that sought to discredit then Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim were circulated, which led to investigations and his eventual sacking.
Such anonymous letters had been the norm then, distributed sometimes at UMNO divisional meetings and general assemblies, and used as a tool to spread politically motivated rumours, to sully an opponent’s reputation and fuel calls for his or her removal given the hard-to-disprove allegations within.
