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The reformasi movement in Malaysia will not fizzle out although it appeared that the government has managed to contain it, said a former high-ranking Indonesian official.

Marzuki Darusman, who is a former Indonesian attorney-general, said the call by Malaysians for change will continue to gain momentum, thus forcing reforms in the political system.

"Going by our own experience, although at first the government seems to have managed to contain the movement, in time, the movement will become unmanageable and will break loose," Marzuki told malaysiakini in an interview yesterday.

"There need not be any looming crisis, like the 1997 financial crisis which brought about the fall of Suharto. Regimes will fall when the public stops accepting the country's leadership, and when leaders become a liability," said Marzuki.

Marzuki, 56, who served as attorney-general and had a brief spell as cabinet secretary in the short-lived Abdurrahman Wahid government, was a politician in former president Suharto's Golkar party.

During the Suharto regime, he was tapped by the Indonesian strongman to head the Indonesian Human Rights Commission, which he is currently serves as adviser.

Marzuki said the Indonesian experience showed that the masses started a reform movement when they could no longer tolerate the excessiveness of the Suharto regime, especially when it came to fiscal indiscipline and human rights violations.

"Suharto was in his third month of the new presidency when calls were made by the people that he should step down due to his mismanagement of the country. The financial crisis helped to precipitate his downfall," said Marzuki who, as attorney-general, was in charge of initiating corruption charges against his former boss and a host of others linked to the disposed president.

'Recycling of regimes'

According to Marzuki, the reformasi movement in Malaysia could result in Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad stepping down, but he warned that this change would not necessarily mean that the weaknesses in the system of governance will be overcome.

"A change in the government does not mean a change in the system. There will be lots of changes in the system that has to be made after the takeover of the government."

He said that the reformasi movement must continue to remain vigilant in ensuring genuine changes.

"The real dynamics will shape up in the aftermath of changes. Issues of corruption and cronyism will come up during this time and the government-of-the-day must address these issues."

Otherwise, he said, it would just be a "recycling of regimes".

"It will be best if Mahathir anticipates these risks and steps aside to allow for a smooth transition of power," said Marzuki.

He added that the changeover will lead to a new scenario in the country's political landscape where "new players and new alliances" will come to the fore.

Mass support

Despite having gained strong support from Malaysians, Marzuki nevertheless does not see the opposition parties forming the next government

"A few years ago, the opposition parties were just a marginalised group. Now they are a reality and have the support to affect real opposition."

However, he said that the opposition can take advantage of their newfound mass support to put pressure on the government to implement changes.

The reformasi movement in Malaysia was sparked by the sacking and subsequent jailing of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in 1998, when thousands took to the streets calling for a more transparent and corrupt-free government.

The movement was partly inspired by the political changes in Indonesia, which called for the sacking of Suharto who was accused of plundering the nation's wealth through corruption, cronyism and nepotism.

This resulted in the opening up of the Indonesian political system as well as the deregulation of the country's economy and financial systems.

Under control

The new democratic process, among others, saw the relaxing of laws regulating demonstrations, revoking of laws on subversion and the abolishment of press licences.

Meanwhile, the reformasi movement in Malaysia had been subdued in recent times, largely due to the strict regulatory controls which restrict freedom of expression and assembly, as well as the intimidation tactics employed by the police against those calling for reforms.

Six key reformasi leaders are currently serving a two-year detention order under the controversial Internal Security Act which allows detention without trial.

Marzuki is currently in Kuala Lumpur at the invitation of the Malaysian Human Rights Commission, or Suhakam, to present a paper at a function yesterday.