The Economist - USA (2019-07-20)

The EconomistJuly 20th 2019 Asia 35

monthtorejecttheappealofanIslamic

preacherandpoliticalactivistsentencedto

ninemonthsinprisonforinsultingthe

SultanofSelangor,oneoftheninemon-

archswhotaketurnsasMalaysia’sheadof

state.Insteadtheactivist’ssentencewasin-

creasedtoa year.Thegovernmentpoints

outthathewasoriginallychargedandsen-

tenced,andhisappeallodged,whileumno

wasstillinpower.Butdemocracyadvo-

catesdonotunderstandhowa government

supposedlydeterminedtorepealtheSedi-

tionActcansitbywhilesuchabusescon-

tinue. Mahathir Mohamad, the current

primeminister,insiststhatchangeisat

hand.“Weareinthemidstofstructuring

thenewlawanditwillbeconcludedas

soonaspossible,”hedeclaredonJuly11th.

ButDrMahathirmaybepartofthepro-

blem.Heisa formerumnoleaderwhoun-

ashamedly used manyof the repressive

lawsthatphissupposedtoberepealing

duringa previousstintasprimeminister.

Moregenerally,thegovernmentisanawk-

wardmixoflong-timeoppositionactivists

anddefectorsfromumno, suchasDrMa-

hathir,whowereputoffmorebyMrNajib’s

allegedcorruptionthanbyhisauthoritar-

ianways.

ThenthereareMalaysia’sracialpolitics.

The governmentwasforcedto abandon

planstoratifytheInternationalConven-

tionontheEliminationofAllFormsofRa-

cial Discrimination, a un-sponsored

treaty,after objectionsfromMalays, the

country’sbiggestethnicgroup,whofeared

thismightthreatenthemanyaffirmative-

actionschemesthatfavourthemanddis-

criminateagainstothergroups.Theoppo-

sition haspainted manyof the govern-

ment’sreformsasharmfulto Malays or

contrarytoIslam(thereligionofmostMa-

lays)—chargesfledglingministers,many

ofwhomareneitherMalaynorMuslim,

lacktheconfidencetorebutforcefully.

Perhapsthebiggestproblemisthatvot-

ers,andthusthegovernment,aremorein-

terestedinothersubjects,mostnotablythe

economy. Repealing ahated goods-and-

servicestaxwasamongph’sfirstmoves

upontakingpower.“Idon’tthinkhuman

rightsisa realtoppriority,”admitsoneac-

tivistworkingwiththegovernment.

Asvoterstireofthegovernment,how-

ever,reformswillbecomehardertoenact.

“Ifyoudon’tdoitoffthebatwhenyou

comeintopowerI’mnotsureitwillever

get done,” says Ambiga Sreenevasan, a

prominentlawyerinvestigatedforsedition

byMrNajib’sgovernment.Malaysiansvot-

edfora coalitionthatloudlyandexplicitly

espousedliberalvalues—butthatmaynot

havebeen whytheyvotedforit. Inthe

meantime,thestateretainsthepowerto

represstheirviews.OneofZunar’sdraw-

ingscapturesthesituationwell.Initthe

stripesofMalaysia’sflagbecomebarsbe-

hindwhichitspeopleareimprisoned. 7

T

heisteqlalweddinghallinKabul,Af-

ghanistan’smountain-fringedcapital,

isquitea sight,atleastatnight.Thered

hangar-likestructureislitupbythousands

ofmulti-colouredlights,whichmakethe

buildingglowlikea casino.Inside,chande-

liersandsilkdrapeshangfromtheceiling,

whichislitwithblueandpinklights.The

floorsareallmarble.

Suchopulenceisnecessaryifyouwant

peopletogetmarriedinyourhall,explains

AhmadFawalSharifi,themanager,from

behinda thickwoodendeskonwhichsits a

large green globe. “The most important

thingisthelooksandthelights,”hesays.

Afterthatcomesthesizeofthecarpark.Is-

teqlal’scanhold5,000cars.Inside,there is

spacefor8,000guests,withenoughsepa-

rate chambers to conduct five simulta-

neousweddings,eachwithsegregatedsec-

tionsformenandwomen.

Kabul has dozens of wedding halls,

mainlyclusteredalongtheroadfromthe

airport.Mosthavea similarstyletotheIs-

teqlal. In addition to dramatic lighting,

plastic-cladturretsandtree-shapedfoun-

tainsarepopular.SomeAmericansoldiers,

onlyseeingtheroadfromhelicopters,have

beenknowntocompareittotheLasVegas

Strip,thoughElvisisunlikelytoofficiate at

anAfghanwedding.FromApriltoSeptem-

berthehallshostweddingseveryday.

WeddinghallsinAfghanistandateback

atleastacentury,butthemodernneon-

and-crystalsortisa recentinvention:be-

fore2001 thepuritanicalTalibanregime

banned such excess. The business boomed

under Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s presi-

dent from 2004 to 2014. But as the number

of natotroops in the country has fallen

from 130,000 to 17,000 in recent years, the

amount of money sloshing around has

plunged, since fewer troops need fewer ke-

babs, laundry services and supply roads.

Cash-strapped Afghans are now cutting

back on ostentatious weddings.

“When we opened, we enjoyed great

business,” says Mr Sharifi. But now it is not

always as easy to fill up every hall. And

costs, like the lights, remain undimmed.

Running generators can burn over 1,000 li-

tres of diesel a night. Hundreds of staff are

involved: not just caterers and musicians,

but dozens of armed security guards, since

wedding halls are vulnerable to attacks by

jihadis. In November a suicide-bomber

killed 50 people at a gathering of clerics

hosted at a wedding hall. That does rather

put people off, admits Ahmad Azimie, the

manager of the Arg wedding hall.

A typical ceremony, with perhaps 1,000

guests, plentiful food and at least two cans

of Red Bull per person, might set a groom’s

family back $9,000, in a country where an-

nual gdpper person is around $520. Many

Afghans complain about being asked to de-

fray distant relatives’ wedding costs.

Grooms’ families complain about being ex-

pected to host thousands of guests. Many

families are taking on debt. “It is sad for

me, but as a businessman, this is where my

profits come from,” says Mr Sharifi.

Competition is fierce for the remaining

customers. Many are from the diaspora. At

the Arg, Azhar, a young Afghan-Canadian

who drives forklift trucks for a living half-

way around the world, is examining halls

with his mother. At his wedding, he insists,

“Everything must be perfect. I don’t care

about money, I am looking to my future.”

Such bravura—and deep pockets—are in

dwindling supply. 7

KABUL

Marble,fountains,alltheRedBullyou

candrinkand5,000parkingplaces

Afghanweddings

Hallchange

A marriage of ostentation and diesel

2