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The American Defence Council Defends Itself!

So, the American Defence Council is hurt enough by allegations in Malaysia that it is not what it says it is. Its executive director, Mr Dan Perrin, has demanded the DAP chairman, Mr Lim Kit Siang, apologise for suggesting that the ADC is a "phantom creature". But its office in Washington is, by its own admission, is at 1747 Pennyslvania Avenue, Suite 1000, the offices of a law firm, Washington, Chamberlain and Bean, and a few blocks from the White House.

But a spokesman in that office was circumspect, to say the least: "If the ADC used this address, it would be because they are a client of the firm." Telephone calls to its "regional office" in Massachussets were unanswered, as one Sangkancilian found out. That its "regional" office is not in the Boston area is reflected in its telephone code of 413, instead of the more common 617. By Mr Perrin's own admission, the American Taxpayers Alliance, the ADC's parent body, has 10,000 members. Bernama no doubt is satisfied that these 10,000 members are so influential that they are a force to reckon with in a nation of nearly a hundred million taxpapers.

So, we have two scoops on Malaysia from two little known American think tanks. Few have heard of either outfit. This is not surprising in a country of hundreds of thousands of non-profit think tanks dotted throughout the country. That two obscure bodies found remarkable evidence of Islamic fundamentalist activity in a country it vaguely heard of is remarkable. That Bernama found them, and continue to insist they represent the doers and shakers of Washington, and their reports are read by the powerful and the high and mighty and have such earth shattering impact that what they write is believed. But no one knows about these two organisations. An organisation that has its main office in a law firm and a "regional office" in a suburban Massachussets and without a website of its own cannot, by any streatch, be a significantly important body.

Mr Lim was too kind to refer to the ADC as a phantom creature. Mr Perrin threatens to sue him if he does not apologise for the slur on his reputation. Mr Lim, if I know him, is not about to. Mr Perrin should, I suggest, push his luck in the Malaysian courts and sue him for defamation. And it should be for no less than a few hundred million US dollars, in the manner of cronies, courtiers and siblings of the Mahathir administration. That way, we can, once and for all, ascertain the genuineness of Mr Perrin and his organisation, and cross examine him about how he came about his thesis of PAS as a dangerous organisation that ought to be rooted out of the Malaysian political scene to safeguard democracy itself. It is an interesting theory this, that democracy must be preserved by undemocratic means. It is not surprising Mr Perrin once worked for Senator Jesse Helms.

When I asked a close friend in Washington about the ADC, he emailed me: "Thought you might like to see the clippings that relate to the American Taxpayers Alliance on the web. Incidentally, this "influential" enity does not have a web site of its own. Checking out with knowledgeable people in DC have not heard of either this or the American Defence Council! So much for being influential. I do not know where Bolehland operatives unearth "important" opinion makers! Does BERNAMA not check out the basis for its stories?"

It is therefore safe to extrapolate that the ADC report, given to Congressional aides visiting Malaysia, was (a) to demonise PAS; (b) to cuddle up to the right-wing, Islamic bashing American political spectrum; and (c) to establish credentials for the Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Mahathir Mohamed to show he is one with President George Bush in preventing Islamic fundamentalists from taking over anywhere. One should therefore assume that the Singapore senior minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, visited here also to steel Dr Mahathir with his paranoia of Islamic resurgence and pass on his own to Washington. In other words, has this Islamic fundamentalist paranoia to do with the short term gain to be invited for tea and cookies at the White House and photographs in the Rose Garden? This is unlikely for now. The powerful National Security Council, I am told, has vetoed it until there are changes that the Prime Minister cannot meet without damaging his own political credibility in Malaysia. Among the changes, for one, relates to the prisoner in Sungei Buloh and primary Malaysian non-person, one Dato' Anwar Ibrahim.

More than that, is Dr Mahathir unaware that if he continues with his claim of Islamic fundamentalist activity at every street corner, that Malaysia is about to go the way of Afghanistan or worse, it would dry up foreign investment quickly; or more importantly, that unknown outfits carry no weight in the upper echelons of the US government? That they do in Malaysia so long as they praise Dr Mahathir to the skies and excoriate his political opponents as rabid Islamic fundamentalists is neither here nor there.

M.G.G. Pillai
pillai@mgg.pc.my