tagged w/ anwar ibrahim
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Latest News Updates Singapore leaders believe Malaysian opposition leader Mr Muhammad Anwar Ibrahim had sex with a male aide in a honey trap set by his enemies, according to leaked US cables published by WikiLeaks on Sunday.Latest News Updates Singapore leaders believe Malaysian opposition leader Mr Muhammad... more
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The governing party of Malaysia used anti-Semitic propaganda to try to turn public opinion against an opposition leader when he was running for parliament.
The , which has dominated parliament for over half a century, circulated a pamphlet alleging that former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was "surrounded by Jews," The New York Times reported. It included pictures of him with two former World Bank presidents, Paul Wolfowitz and James Wolfensohn.
"These are the only weapons that UMNO can use against Anwar — relying on xenophobia to sustain its support," Tian Chua, a member of parliament and an adviser to Anwar, told the Times.
The strategy failed. Anwar, who in 2008 was named one of Time's 100 most influential people, won the parliamentary seat in a landslide on Aug. 26. At press time, he was poised to break the governing party's stronghold after enough of their members defected to the opposition.
Although the pamphlet targeting Anwar was particularly ugly, anti-Semitism isn't new to Malaysia, which has a tiny Jewish population. In October 2003, at a gathering of leaders at the Organization of the Islamic Conference summit, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad made an anti-Jewish remark that was greeted with loud applause. "The Europeans killed 6 million Jews out of 12 million," Mahathir said, "but today the Jews rule the world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them."
Two decades earlier, Mahathir had cancelled a visit by the New York Philharmonic after learning that they planned to perform a piece by a Jewish composer. He also initially barred the acclaimed film "Schindler's List" from being shown in Malaysia because, he said, its purpose was to garner sympathy for Jews. Furthermore, he has made speeches accusing Zionists of controlling the media and trying to wreck the country's economy.The governing party of Malaysia used anti-Semitic propaganda to try to turn public... more
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Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is due in court shortly to face charges of sodomy against a 23-year-old former aide.
Mr Anwar has strenuously denied the allegation, describing it as a "fabrication" aimed at derailing his political revival. The 60-year-old was jailed after facing similar accusations 10 years ago. Since his release he has been active in politics but, until recently, not able to officially run in elections. He will go before a judge to face a charge of "carnal intercourse against the order of nature".
Sodomy is illegal in Malaysia and he could face up to 20 years in jail.
The man who led the new opposition coalition to stunning gains in a general election earlier this year has denied the claims from the outset. "This is a lie," Mr Anwar told reporters on Wednesday. He believes it is politically motivated. The accusation is exactly the same as the one he faced in 1998, after he had been sacked as deputy prime minister.
Then he was tried and convicted. He served six years before the guilty verdict was overturned. Fresh allegations surfaced in June - although a recent opinion poll suggests that few Malaysians believe Anwar Ibrahim has committed the crime. The man he says has orchestrated a campaign against him, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, has denied there is a conspiracy. The charges will be made just as Mr Anwar prepares to fight for a seat in parliament, after a ban on his seeking public office expired. He is almost certain to win the by-election at the end of the month. Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is due in court shortly to face charges of... more
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Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim Thursday called his arrest on sodomy charges a "dirty trick and conspiracy" orchestrated by authorities in the country trying to discredit him.
"This is a trick to deflect from the problem of corruption and mismanagement of the economy," Anwar told CNN.
The arrest Wednesday, which the U.S. State Department said "raises serious questions and concerns," is the second time Anwar, one of Asia's best-known opposition leaders, has been incarcerated on charges including sodomy and comes after a coalition he led gained seats in the country's parliamentary elections.
Read more...Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim Thursday called his arrest on sodomy charges... more
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Malaysian police have released opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on bail after he was arrested in connection with allegations of sodomy.
He was held for questioning over the allegations just hours before he had been due to make a police statement.
The former deputy prime minister, who could still face charges, has accused the government of orchestrating the allegations to discredit him.
"They have no case against me," Mr Anwar told reporters after his release.
The 60-year-old has been in a tense stand-off with police since a former male aide accused him of sodomy two weeks ago.
Sodomy, even between consenting adults, is a crime in Malaysia and is punishable by 20 years' imprisonment in the Muslim-majority country.
His arrest is likely to exacerbate the political tensions that have emerged since the opposition's unprecedented gains in the general election of March 2008.
Intense pressure
Speaking to reporters outside police headquarters, the former lawyer said he had left the building.
"He was driven off in his wife's car through the back exit," said Sivarasa Rasiah.
Mr Anwar's arrest will have been seen as provocative by Malaysian opposition groups, says the BBC's Robin Brant in Kuala Lumpur.
When he was arrested on similar charges 10 years ago, his supporters staged large demonstrations.
They had promised to do the same this time but, so far, no big protests have taken place, our correspondent says.
Only a handful of supporters gathered outside the police headquarters, despite calls by the opposition for a show of support.
Mr Anwar has given a statement to police but refused to provide a DNA sample, AFP news agency quoted his lawyers as saying.
Under the bail conditions, he is required to report back to police on 18 August.
Mr Anwar has said the allegations are part of a conspiracy to try to derail his efforts to bring down the government after his significant gains in the general election.
The sodomy accusations came only weeks after Mr Anwar said he was in a position to launch a challenge to the ruling coalition, with the help of government defectors.
The opposition leader made his claim at a time when Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi is already under intense pressure to resign over poor election results and high fuel prices.
Mr Abdullah has said he will leave office in 2010, defying pressure to step down this December. Malaysian police have released opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on bail after he was... more
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kushan
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3 years ago
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Police arrested Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday about an hour before a deadline for him to appear at police headquarters to answer allegations that he sodomized a male aide.
The arrest was likely to exacerbate the political divisions and tensions that have been running high since the opposition made unprecedented gains in the March general elections, eroding the ruling coalition's strength in Parliament.
Anwar has denied the sodomy accusation -- made in a police complaint by the young male aide last month -- as a political conspiracy by the government to snuff out his publicly announced campaign to seize power by September.
About a dozen policemen, some of them wearing balaclavas, cordoned off the road leading to Anwar's house and stopped his car, said his lawyer Sankara Nair. He said the policemen informed Anwar that they had orders to arrest him but gave no reason.
Anwar was bundled into a police car with dark tinted windows and driven to the police headquarters where a crowd of opposition lawmakers including his wife Azizah Ismail gathered outside. They were not allowed inside, and there was no trouble or violence.
Azizah said Anwar called on her cell phone after being arrested.
"I feel apprehensive because my husband ... is not that well. He has a bad back, he's had surgery. And (during our) the brief conversation he said they (police) were not gentle," she said.
It was not clear why Anwar was arrested a little before 1 p.m. since he had said he would present himself for interrogation before the Wednesday 2 p.m. deadline set by the police.
Azmin Ali, the vice president of Anwar's People's Justice Party, called the arrest "outrageous and very uncivilized."
"This is not a criminal case but a political case," he said.
The arrest was made as Anwar was returning home from the administrative capital of Putrajaya. He had told reporters there that he would go to the police headquarters at 2 p.m. and "give my fullest cooperation" to the police.
The sodomy accusation recreated a drama surrounding a similar scandal he faced in 1998 when he was deputy prime minister and finance minister. Another sodomy accusation at the time led to his dismissal from the government and subsequent conviction and imprisonment. His downfall led to massive street protests by his supporters for weeks.
Malaysia's Supreme Court later overturned the conviction, but by then Anwar had served six years in jail on a related abuse of power charge. He was freed in 2004, when he revived his political career as an opposition leader.
"There is no basis for this whole fabrication and malicious attacks. It is just a repeat of the 1998 script. You can see the pattern," Anwar said in Putrajaya.
Anwar can be held in custody for up to 14 days, after which he must be charged. Sodomy is a non-bailable offense, punishable by up to 20 years in jail.
The sodomy accusation has hampered his campaign to topple the government, which suffered badly at the hands of his three-party People's Alliance in the March 8 general elections.
The ruling National Front coalition, which has traditionally enjoyed a two-thirds majority, now has only a 30-seat advantage over the opposition. Anwar's charisma and strategic skills were credited with boosting the opposition's strength in the 222-member Parliament from 19 to 82 seats.Police arrested Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday about an hour... more
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kushan
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added this
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3 years ago
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Malaysia's de facto opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, has been arrested shortly before he was due to give a statement to police over allegations that he sexually assaulted a male aide.Malaysia's de facto opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, has been arrested shortly... more
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