Editorials
Friday, September 4, 1998

Diplomacy needed in
mentally ill dispute

INSTALLATION of a facility for the mentally ill on Fort Street Mall might have been reluctantly accepted by neighbors if the state Department of Health had displayed a modicum of tact in proposing it. Instead, the department began talking with Fort Street Mall neighbors only after it had signed a lease to locate the program in the Blaisdell Hotel. Health Director Larry Miike says opponents have "no right" to complain.

Technically, Fort Street Mall is a business district, presumably suitable for the nonresidential program called the Clubhouse, operated by Mental Help Hawaii during weekdays to give skills and job transition assistance to the mentally disabled. However, the mauka portion of the mall also is used as the campus of Hawaii Pacific University. The Blaisdell Hotel houses the university's bookstore and other activities. HPU is seeking a court order to stop the project.

The Downtown Neighborhood Board, which also opposes the plan, called for establishment of a task force of university, Health Department and downtown business representatives to engage in dialogue. Only then did Miike agree to discuss the subject with its detractors, but he claims there is "no right of anybody to say they (the Clubhouse's clients) don't belong there because they're engaging in criminal behavior or they're a danger to the neighborhood."

Much as Miike would like to suspend First Amendment rights, opponents of the Clubhouse opening on Fort Street Mall have every right to object to the state's tactics and the project itself. Miike's assertion that opposition to his department's plans amounts to discrimination against the mentally disabled is a gross distortion of civil-rights laws.

Locating facilities such as substance-abuse treatment centers, halfway houses and facilities for the mentally ill is bound to cause concern among neighbors. Diplomacy is crucial. Attempts to ram such plans down neighbors' throats are bound to find resistance. Miike should not be surprised when people exercise their constitutional rights in voicing their opposition.

Malaysian malaise

MALAYSIA'S volatile prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, has fired his deputy in a move apparently related to the nation's economic crisis. The aide, former deputy prime minister and finance minister Anwar Ibrahim, had been considered Mahathir's heir apparent, but fell out of favor by challenging the prime minister's policies.

Anwar has been accused of sexual and campaign-finance misconduct, which he strongly denies. There was speculation that he would be arrested and that more arrests of political and business leaders would follow.

Malaysia has been wracked by a 14-month-old financial crisis related to the broader problems of the Southeast Asian region. Last September Mahathir blamed Western speculators for the collapse of the national currency rather than admit any mistakes by his own government. Over the years he has voiced anti-Western and anti-Semitic sentiments although the Malaysian economy is highly dependent on Western investment and trade.

This week the government imposed strict currency controls and reverted to a fixed exchange rate regime -- moves that clashed with Anwar's free-market views. He was sacked the next day and subsequently expelled from the ruling party.

"Anwar's exit removes the last prominent market-friendly face from the Malaysian hierarchy," market consultancy I.D.E.A. said in a commentary. "With the maverick Mahathir now at the helm of affairs without Anwar's moderating influence, foreign money may turn away from Malaysia long term."

In neighboring Indonesia, the financial crisis triggered the resignation of President Suharto and led to reforms. Now it appears to be Malaysia's turn to experience political repercussions from the bursting of the economic bubble. But in this case the trend appears to be toward more repression of dissent, not less. The West should be concerned about Anwar's fate as a symptom of the direction in which Malaysia is heading.

World-class aquarium

A world-class aquarium in Kakaako has been touted as a potential enhancement of Hawaii's attractiveness to visitors as well as a resource for residents. Now a state-funded study has been completed that predicts such a facility would draw at least 775,000 visitors and net $3.5 million a year.

According to the study, by a California consulting firm, the project would cost $36 million to $60 million and require about 66,000 feet of indoor space, plus outdoor areas. The proposed location is a seven-acre parcel at the western tip of Kewalo Basin overlooking "Point Panic."

Acquisition of the property isn't a problem, because the state owns the land. But coming up with the money could be. Jan Yokota, director of the Hawaii Community Development Authority, which commissioned the study, said private funds would have to be raised.

This project has the potential to be a major asset. The Waikiki Aquarium, which it would replace, is simply too small, although it was improved four years ago. Its director, Bruce Carlson, said it "just doesn't meet the expectations of visitors or residents." The proposed facility would compare with top mainland aquariums.

Oahu already has Sea Life Park in addition to the Waikiki Aquarium, but there would presumably be room for both the new aquarium and Sea Life Park, which is located some 15 miles away in Makapuu. The study suggests that the aquarium might outdraw Sea Life Park, which attracted 460,000 visitors last year, and the Honolulu Zoo, which drew 600,000.

From a feasibility study to realization of the dream can be a very long process. But the benefits of making it come true seem obvious. The need now is to win support for the project.

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A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor