WASHINGTON, DC, July 18 — United States Senator Joseph Biden Jr today called on Kuala Lumpur not to repeat the mistakes of the past in prosecuting opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, urging the Prime Minister "to drop this political attack on a respected opposition figure".
Biden, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is the latest American official to voice concern over Anwar's arrest in connection with a sodomy complaint filed by a former male aide last month. This is the second such accusation against the 60-year-old father of six in a decade.
"The charges against Mr Anwar closely mirror those levied against him in 1998: then, too, politically-motivated allegations were made against Mr. Anwar at the precise moment when he seemed poised to challenge a sitting Prime Minister," Biden said in a statement issued by Anwar's Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).
He said the spectacle of Anwar's "mistreatment and imprisonment on transparently political grounds greatly discredited Malaysia in the eyes of the world community" a decade ago and tarnished the reputation of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
"I certainly hope that the current Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi, does not repeat the mistakes of the past. I urge him to drop this political attack on a respected opposition figure, and commit himself to rule of law and good governance in Malaysia," Biden said.
Charges Are Filed As Alliance Seeks To Topple Badawi By JAMES HOOKWAY, Asian Wall Street Journal
July 17, 2008
Malaysian police arrested opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on suspicion of sodomy, setting the stage for another confrontation between his supporters and the ruling National Front government 10 years after Mr. Anwar was arrested and later jailed on nearly identical charges.
Anwar Ibrahim may be held for up to 24 hours for questioning, and an additional 14 days, pending a court order -- without charges.
Mr. Anwar's arrest Wednesday is expected to heighten political tension in this predominately Muslim Southeast Asian nation of 27 million, where an opposition alliance he leads has been pushing to topple Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's government after making large gains in a March parliamentary election.
That vote saw the opposition's strongest showing in almost 40 years -- and heralded the 60-year-old Mr. Anwar's political comeback after being sacked from his post as deputy premier in 1998, when he fell out with then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Mr. Anwar was then charged with sodomy and imprisoned until his conviction was overturned in 2004.
Last month, a 23-year-old former aide lodged a complaint with Malaysian police alleging that Mr. Anwar had forcibly sodomized him. Mr. Anwar denied the allegation and has maintained that both his earlier prosecution and the new sodomy complaint were politically motivated to destroy his reputation and block him from political power. Government officials including Mr. Abdullah have denied that they orchestrated the current sodomy allegation against Mr. Anwar. Dr. Mahathir has denied that the 1998 charge was trumped up.
Under Malaysian law, sodomy, even between consenting adults, is a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
In an interview several days before his arrest, Mr. Anwar said the latest allegation is a rerun of what happened in 1998, when he was also challenging to Malaysia's leadership. "It's the same thing all over again," he said. "They use the sodomy allegation because of its shock value."
The director of the Malaysian Criminal Investigation Department, Bakri Zinin, told reporters Wednesday that police had followed proper procedures in arresting Mr. Anwar. "Anwar is currently helping us in a sodomy case that was reported by his [former] aide. He has been allowed access to a lawyer of his choice as well as family members," Mr. Bakri said.
Home Affairs Minister Syed Hamid Albar, who oversees Malaysia's police force, said the police had acted within the law in arresting Mr. Anwar. In a television interview with CNN on Wednesday night, he said he was "not concerned" about a popular backlash because the arrest was "not a political move."
But opposition leaders reacted with outrage and anger, accusing the government of conspiring against Mr. Anwar. "This is not a criminal case but a political case," said Azmin Ali, the vice president of Mr. Anwar's People's Justice Party, the Associated Press reported.
The U.S. ambassador to Malaysia, James Keith, said in a statement that the arrest of a prominent opposition figure "raises serious questions and concerns." He added, "We urge Malaysian authorities to resolve this matter in a manner that enhances confidence in the rule of law in Malaysia."
Mr. Anwar's arrest 10 years ago prompted months of antigovernment demonstrations and strong criticism from some Western countries, including the U.S. After Wednesday's arrest, security forces, backed by water cannons, sealed off roads to police headquarters. Witnesses said that as many as 400 people protested outside, some holding placards demanding Mr. Anwar's release. No violence was reported.
Economists and political analysts said the risk of a deeper political conflict in one of Southeast Asia's biggest exporters of natural gas, petroleum, palm oil and electronic components had increased because of Mr. Anwar's arrest. But it wasn't immediately clear whether an opposition backlash could spread and threaten political stability in Malaysia, which has been ruled by the National Front since independence in 1957.
The Kuala Lumpur stock exchange's composite index fell 0.7% Wednesday, while the U.S. dollar strengthened slightly against the Malaysian ringgit.
Mr. Anwar's arrest comes amid growing economic problems, which contributed to opposition gains in the March election. Malaysians are trying to absorb a 41% increase in gasoline prices after the government removed an expensive subsidy last month; food prices are also soaring, deepening a sense of popular frustration with the government.
Last week, 68-year-old Prime Minister Abdullah, who has been widely criticized as a weak and ineffectual leader, announced plans to step down in 2010 and hand over the premiership to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak. Mr. Najib is one of Mr. Anwar's oldest and bitterest rivals.
The latest sodomy allegation surfaced June 29 as Mr. Anwar was courting government politicians to defect to the opposition camp and force a no-confidence vote against Mr. Abdullah's government.
By Manirajan Ramasamy and Angus Whitley By Bloomberg.com
July 16, 2008 04:30 EDT
July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was arrested following accusations he had sex with a male aide, 10 years after he was jailed for a similar charge that was later quashed. Stocks and the ringgit extended declines.
Anwar, 60, was detained near his home in Kuala Lumpur by 20 masked officers, his office said. He wasn't given a reason for the arrest, according to his lawyer Sankara Nair. Police are due to hold a press conference later in the capital.
The former deputy prime minister denies the accusations and says the current case is fabricated to destroy his plan to topple Premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in two months. A decade ago, Anwar's detention triggered street riots and today's arrest will generate more popular support for his cause, analysts said.
``This will certainly increase sympathy for him,'' said Ibrahim Suffian, director of the Merdeka Center, an independent research institute near Kuala Lumpur. ``If he stays in jail and some kind of charge is introduced, we'll be resetting the clock back to 1998. This may well be the single action that tips people over to Anwar.''
The People's Justice Party, which Anwar advises, and its two allies won control of five of Malaysia's 13 states in the March 8 elections. That denied the ruling coalition, which has ruled for five decades, its two-thirds majority in Parliament.
Anwar was jailed for six years for corruption and sodomy until Malaysia's highest court overturned the sodomy conviction and released him in 2004.
Sinking Stocks
His party today called for supporters to rally calmly at the police station where the former minister was planning to give a statement. His wife, daughter and about 10 opposition lawmakers gathered at the building after the arrest, which took place shortly before 1 p.m. local time.
Investors have sold Malaysian stocks since the elections, driving down the benchmark index 23 percent this year. That's worse than the performances of the indexes in neighboring Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite index extended declines after the arrest to its lowest in 16 months, losing 0.6 percent. The Malaysian ringgit was the region's worst performer today, weakening 0.2 percent to 3.2270 against the U.S. dollar.
Some money managers called on Abdullah's National Front coalition to explain today's developments.
Health Threat
``The government should address the nation,'' said Scott Lim, who helps manage the equivalent of $620 million as chief investment officer at CMS Asset Management Sdn. in Kuala Lumpur. ``Instability following the March 8 election has all been very, very negative.''
The investigation into Anwar's aide's accusation comes under a section of Malaysia's penal code listing the offence of ``carnal intercourse against the order of nature.'' That includes fellatio or anal sex with another person, the code says.
``All that the people want to know now is whether Anwar sodomized or not,'' Mukhriz Mahathir, lawmaker for the National Front coalition, said in Parliament, triggering shouts from opposition members of Parliament. He called for the DNA evidence from human tissue to be produced.
About 65 percent of Malaysians consider the allegations to be politically motivated, while 11 percent believe Anwar is guilty, according to a survey of 1,000 people conducted July 14 by the Merdeka Center, Ibrahim said.
Anwar, who was confined temporarily to a wheelchair by the police beating he received in 1998, may be in danger again, said his wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
`I Feel Apprehensive'
``I feel apprehensive because my husband is, 10 years down the road, not that well,'' she told reporters today after speaking to Anwar by phone following the arrest. ``He has a bad back, he's had surgery, and from the brief conversation, he said they were not gentle.''
Anwar has filed a defamation suit against his accuser and claims the 23-year-old former aide conspired with the government.
The manner of the arrest, one hour before Anwar had agreed to meet police, drew criticism from his party and others in the opposition alliance.
``Can't they conduct their investigations in a proper manner?'' Azmin Ali, vice president of People's Justice Party, told reporters at Parliament. ``The police should not test the patience of the citizens. Do they want a repeat of the `98 riots?''
Anwar should be immediately released since he was willing to cooperate with the investigation, Lim Guan Eng, head of the opposition Democratic Action Party, said in an e-mailed statement.
Malaysia's top policeman, Musa Hassan, didn't reply to a message left on his phone seeking an explanation for the arrest.
To contact the reporters on this story: Manirajan Ramasamy in Kuala Lumpur at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Angus Whitley in Kuala Lumpur at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
BANGKOK — In what seemed a reprise of one of the more unusual moments in recent Malaysian history, police officers wearing ski masks seized the country’s most prominent opposition politician, Anwar Ibrahim, on Wednesday and took him to jail on suspicion of sodomy.
After saying he would be freed, the police held Mr. Anwar in custody for at least one night.
The arrest was likely to add to political tensions that have grown since the governing party suffered the biggest losses in its history in an election in March.
Mr. Anwar, 61, has strongly denied the accusation of sodomy, which was made last month by a 23-year-old male aide. He called it a political fabrication by the same governing establishment that convicted him on charges of sodomy and corruption in 1998. The sodomy charge was later overturned. Sex between males is against the law in Malaysia.
After his previous arrest, tens of thousands of supporters challenged the government in the streets in some of the biggest demonstrations the country had seen in recent years.
The manner of Mr. Anwar’s arrest Wednesday seemed intended to intimidate and to challenge the opposition as much as to enforce the law.
According to one of his lawyers, Sankara Nair, who said he witnessed the arrest, Mr. Anwar was pulled roughly from his car and driven to the police headquarters just one hour before he had promised to turn himself in.
“If it had been an ordinary investigation, then they should have allowed him to go to the police headquarters as has been agreed and they should have allowed him to make his statement,??? said another of his lawyers, William Leong.
During his previous arrest Mr. Anwar was famously punched in the eye by a high-ranking police officer, who later apologized to him when the political winds changed direction and the Federal Court set him free in 2004.
Both times, the charges were brought at a moment when Mr. Anwar was posing a dangerous challenge to incumbent prime ministers, first Mahathir Mohamad and now Dr. Mathatir’s successor, Abdullah Badawi.
In 1998, as deputy prime minister and finance minister, Mr. Anwar had been Dr. Mahathir’s chosen successor but had apparently pushed his own ambitions too quickly for the prime minister’s taste.
The sodomy conviction was overturned after Dr. Mahathir had left office, by which time Mr. Anwar had served six years in prison.
By then, Malaysian politics had moved on, with a new prime minister and new contenders for power, and most analysts said chances were slim for a revival of Mr. Anwar’s political career.
But in the tangled political infighting of Malaysian politics, Dr. Mahathir has turned against Mr. Abdullah, who had been his new designated successor, and the government has been seriously weakened by its electoral disaster in the March election.
At that time, the governing Barisan Nasional coalition lost its two-thirds parliamentary majority and ceded five states to the opposition, and Mr. Anwar’s challenge gained credibility and momentum.
About 400 supporters gathered outside the police headquarters Wednesday demanding his release and police officers in riot gear warned the crowd to disperse or face arrest. Mr. Anwar’s supporters replied with a warning of their own.
“Why are the police trying to test the people’s patience???? said Azmin Ali, a leader of Mr. Anwar’s party, the People Justice Party. “I am giving a very strong reminder to the police, don’t provoke us.???
The government denied that politics was involved in the sodomy accusation. “The purpose of the investigations is not to fix someone but is to really help him clear his name,??? Shahrir Samad, the domestic trade minister, said.
JULY 9 - There is a political storm building in Malaysia that Australia cannot afford to ignore. The decision by the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, to seek to avoid the worst of the turbulence when he flies into Kuala Lumpur on Thursday is short sighted.
Mr Rudd will meet the beleaguered Malaysian Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi, who suffered an extraordinary swing against his ruling party in March despite the considerable advantages of incumbency.
But Mr Rudd will not meet the man at the centre of the political drama, the de facto opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim.
Yet if there is one man steeled to challenge the political stranglehold of the coalition that has ruled Malaysia for half a century, it is Mr Anwar. In the late 1990s, the one-time Muslim student leader rose to the position of deputy to the then prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, who presided over a Malaysian democracy of form, not substance. Harsh internal security laws, a vast police special branch, media controls and a tamed judiciary helped keep the Barisan Nasional in power.
Mr Anwar's stellar political rise was cut short in 1998 by sensational sodomy and corruption charges, protecting Dr Mahathir from a potential challenge from within. A six-year jail term and a serious beating at the hands of police turned Mr Anwar into a popular symbol of disaffection across Malaysian society. When Mr Anwar's sodomy conviction was overturned in 2004 after Dr Mahathir's retirement, there were hopes for a more open political system under Mr Abdullah.
But it is deja vu in Kuala Lumpur. Just months after a court ban expired, clearing the way for Mr Anwar to stand for election again, another sodomy allegation has been trotted out. Given the timing and the politicization of the Malaysian judiciary and police, it must be regarded with deep suspicion.
Mr Rudd's office says protocol rules out a meeting with Mr Anwar. However, it is not unusual for Australian prime ministers to meet significant political figures while overseas; Mr Rudd met Hillary Clinton and John McCain while in the US this year. George Bush and Hu Jintao met him when in Sydney before last year's elections.
How Malaysia's deepening political tensions play out, and at what cost to democracy and stability, is of great regional significance. Mr Anwar is a former deputy prime minister and now leads a coalition of opposition parties that has already delivered an unexpected body blow to the Government. He is a man Australia needs to understand.
