Anwar Trial Resumes
PlanetOut News,
January 25, 2000
Malaysias reform leader is back in court facing sodomy charges he says are
politically motivated, but after the re-election of his nemesis as Prime Minister, the
coverage has cooled.
The highly political sodomy trial of Malaysias former deputy prime minister Anwar
Ibrahim resumed on January 25. Proceedings had been suspended for national elections in
November. Although Anwar served as a symbol which united opposition groups in Malaysia as
never before, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed -- the longest-serving leader in Asia -- and
his UMNO party were easily re-elected to another five-year term and another unbeatable
majority in the parliament. Despite that success, the administration recently carried out
another round of arrests of opposition leaders and former associates of Anwars.
Meanwhile, Anwar could still face up to 20 years in prison and a caning if convicted of
charges he has stoutly maintained were entirely contrived by government officials for
political reasons. The trial is expected to last another two months.
Numerous police were stationed outside the courthouse in riot gear with water canon,
and despite advance warnings from the government, demonstrators gathered and chanted for
"reformasi." Although they remained peaceful, ten or eleven of the protesters
were arrested in the morning. Although reports are not entirely consistent, it appears
that originally there were several small groups of protesters who were dispersed but
joined up again more than once, with total participation variously quoted at 200 - 500.
In denouncing the arrests of the demonstrators, Elizabeth Wong, coordinator of the
human rights group Suaram (Suara Rakyat Malaysia) said in a statement, "We are
spiraling up the ladder of authoritarianism so rapidly that one day, Malaysians may wake
up to a totalitarian state."
Anwar was described as looking gaunt in his first public appearance since November 11,
but he smiled and even signed some autographs for supporters. He once again cited "a
high-level conspiracy involving prominent politicians." His attorneys were granted an
early dismissal to review records they say will support his alibi. Anwars lead
attorney, Karpal Singh, is himself facing sedition charges, and in turn has accused the
attorney general of bringing those charges to interfere with his defense of Anwar. The
numerous charges, lawsuits and appeals involving almost every party to the case will
continue for years to come.
Anwars troubles began in earnest in mid-1998, when in his role as finance
minister he clashed with Mahathir over fiscal policies, Mahathir preferring a more
isolationist approach which in fact helped Malaysia weather Asias financial crash.
Anwar, who had been viewed as "prime minister in waiting" to succeed the aging
Mahathir, had also become increasingly vocal about corruption in the administration. In
September 1998, Mahathir abruptly fired Anwar, who was quickly deposed from his leadership
role in UMNO as well, on grounds of immorality. Anwars continued allegations of
government corruption stirred up a level of protest the nation hadnt seen in thirty
years, with street demonstrations with as many as 20,000 participants. Police responded
with increasing force and numerous arrests, and before the month was out, Anwar himself
was arrested -- and has not been out of prison since. He was originally arrested under a
national security law that gives the government essentially unlimited powers to arrest
individuals and hold them indefinitely without outside contact. During those first two
weeks of detention, Anwar was severely beaten, a beating to which the nations chief
law enforcement official much later admitted to administering himself. Malaysia hosted an
APEC meeting soon afterwards at which U.S. Vice President Al Gore referred to Anwars
treatment in a major speech, chilling Mahathir towards both the U.S. and APEC.
Anwar was ultimately charged with five counts of sodomy and five counts of corruption,
the latter being alleged abuse of power in attempting to cover up the alleged sexual
misconduct. He was first tried on the corruption counts in what became the nations
longest-running trial, which was reported by the government-controlled media in a lurid
fashion not seen there before. Anwar was ultimately convicted and sentenced to six years
in prison -- a sentence which ended his political career for even longer. Those trial
proceedings were widely denounced by both international observers and Malaysian human
rights groups.
In June 1999 the government began prosecution of Anwar for sexually assaulting his
wifes former chauffeur, even though the year in which the sodomy was alleged to have
occurred was changed three times -- and the victim-witness himself was later charged with
a different form of sexual misconduct in the course of the trial. The proceedings were
delayed several times when Anwar became ill; his family smuggled out samples and was
advised by an Australian laboratory that he was suffering from arsenic poisoning, although
the government sent samples to labs on three different continents without finding that
result. There was another delay when the judge became ill. Finally a further delay was
imposed on November 15 after Mahathir called the elections for November 29, because the
opposition movement had continued to grow with Anwar as its symbol and his wife, Wan
Azizah Wan Ismail, in a leadership role. However, the media coverage (both local and
international) and public response to the second trial has been only a shadow of the
first.
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