By Nile Bowie
An articled published in the New Straits Times newspaper exposing
several Malaysian NGOs receiving foreign funding has triggered a storm of
controversy over the validity of such accusations. NGOs including Suaram, the Coalition
for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih), the Centre for Independent Journalism,
and others threatened
the newspaper with legal action unless it issues an official apology within 48
hours. Despite numerous critics casting doubt over these accusations,
prominent figures such as Bersih leader Ambiga Sreenevasan have admitted to the
press that her organization receives foreign funding. The Malaysian Insider reported in
their June 2011 article “Bersih
repudiates foreign Christian funding claim,” that “Ambiga admitted to
Bersih receiving some money from two US organizations — the National Democratic
Institute (NDI) and Open Society Institute (OSI) — for other projects, which
she stressed were unrelated to the July 9 march.”
While many perceive this story to be a
“crackdown on civil society” and a means to “distract public attention from
serious issues” prior to the general elections, a closer examination of these
organizations is necessary. The National Democratic Institute (NDI) is
satellite organization of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which receives its funding almost entirely
through the United States Government. As NED hides behind tired euphemisms
of “promoting democracy” and “fortifying civil society” around the world, the
organization has been accused of manipulating
elections and bolstering dissident organizations in an attempt to topple
governments in Nicaragua, Albania, Venezuela, Russia, and elsewhere.
Government-funded organizations like NED, and others such as Freedom House and
the International Republic Institute, exist to further American foreign policy
in the countries where Washington has strategic interests.
The United States has begun shifting its focus
to the Asia Pacific region in recent times, which many believe is a means to
counter China’s growing influence. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim maintains close
ties with senior American officials and was even a panelist
at NED’s "Democracy Award" event held in Washington D.C. in 2007.
Despite Prime Minister Najib’s efforts to make his administration more
attractive for US investment and partnership, Washington views Anwar Ibrahim as
a more malleable candidate who would ultimately prove to be more adept toward
serving their interests. Despite claims of being “non-partisan” organizations
like Bersih and Suaram receive funding to cast doubt on the political status
quo and to promote dissent. A simple visit to NED’s official website confirms
that the organization has indeed provided funding to Malaysian groups, and has supported
media which would be considered “pro-opposition.”
NED annually provides RM
317,260 for news website Malaysiakini – an organization that was founded with
a $100,000 grant from George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and other groups. NED provides RM 285,516
to Suaram, and an
astounding RM 2,544,670 to the International Republic Institute, who claims
to be working with “state leaders in Penang and Selangor to provide them with
public opinion research, training and other resources to enable them to be more
effective representatives of their constituents” – specific mention of these states
is unsurprising. Few “activists” consider the broader implications of these
affiliations – and have instead opted to advertise their own impressionability
by following NGOs bent on convincing them how “unfree” their country is.
Democracy activists are under the impression
that their country imposes repressive controls on expression – can one not go
into a bookstore to freely purchase titles such as “The End of Barisan Nasional?” – written by Suaram founder Kua Kia
Soong? According to Ambiga Sreenevasan, the electoral process is so unfree that
a mass movement like Bersih is required to purge the system of its backwardness
– in a country where the opposition controls four states. In an interview with
Julian Assange of Wikileaks, Anwar Ibrahim called Myanmar (Burma) more of a
democracy than Malaysia. Is it not outrageous that an organization calling
itself the “Centre for Independent Journalism” lashes out against a local
journalist for exercising her freedom of speech by publishing a product of her
research? Cinematic exaggeration and hysterical claims of being “unfree” - this
is what “democracy promotion” looks like.
Six NGOs have demanded an apology from the New Straits Times, all
of which receive funding from groups funded by the US State Department or the Open
Society Institute. Realistically, complex issues of American foreign policy
and political destabilization cannot be adequately summarized in the space of
an average print media article. This ordeal should be a valuable lesson for truth-seeking
Malaysians to independently research topics of interest before forming personal
conclusions (including the figures and claims made in this article). As the
accused NGOs claim to represent “transparency,” “freedom,” and “independent
journalism,” their own illegitimacy is laid bare as they attack the work of a
local journalist who attempted to expose a money trail that leads straight to
the American Embassy.
Nile Bowie is a Kuala Lumpur-based American writer and photographer for
the Centre for Research on Globalization in Montreal, Canada. He explores
issues of terrorism, economics and geopolitics.
