Incarceration does not dint Anwar's high profile<\/p>\n
By Nelson Graves<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Even behind bars, Anwar Ibrahim will
\nnot fade away.<\/p>\n
Malaysian prosecutors said on Tuesday they will pursue a
\nsodomy charge against the former finance minister, who earlier
\nthis month was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption.<\/p>\n
A new trial will mean more legal headaches for the political
\ninsider turned dissident.<\/p>\n
But it also gives Anwar and his supporters, led by his
\nincreasingly outspoken wife, a new podium from which to denounce
\nPrime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his government.<\/p>\n
The brief session on Tuesday at Kuala Lumpur's High Court
\nthrust Anwar back into the public eye two weeks after he was
\nhanded a conviction that will keep him in jail until at least
\n2003 and out of public office until 2008.<\/p>\n
\"Not guilty. Malicious prosecution,\" Anwar told the court when
\nasked to respond to the charge of having sodomized his family's
\nformer driver in May 1992. Those were his first words in public
\nsince his conviction on April 14.<\/p>\n
Eager to take advantage of the new public platform, he turned
\nto reporters in the court and said: \"Malicious prosecution. You
\nquote that.\"<\/p>\n
Anwar's saga has also returned to the regional stage. A
\nplanned trip by Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, to Manila
\nthis week has fanned the embers of a bilateral dispute which had
\nbegun to lose its heat.<\/p>\n
Philippine President Joseph Estrada irritated Kuala Lumpur
\nlast year when he expressed sympathy for Anwar and later met Wan
\nAzizah in the Malaysian capital.<\/p>\n
Malaysia's Foreign Ministry took the unusual step on Monday of
\ndenouncing Wan Azizah's trip to Manila. She will speak to the
\nManila Rotary Club and is expected to meet Estrada and former
\npresident Corazon Aquino during her visit starting on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Estrada stood firm on Tuesday, saying his country was not
\nmeddling. \"Everybody is welcome here,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Instead of ignoring Wan Azizah's visit to Manila, the
\nMalaysian government has given it prominence and thrown a pebble
\ninto the tranquil waters of regional politics.<\/p>\n
\"This plays into her hands,\" a former Anwar associate said of
\nthe government's reaction to Wan Azizah's visit.<\/p>\n
A High Court judge said he would set a date for the trial on
\nthe one sodomy count on May 4.<\/p>\n
Diplomats were puzzled by the government's decision to press
\nahead with a fresh trial. \"We all thought this was the last thing
\nthey wanted to do,\" one envoy said. \"They were on course to try
\nto bury this thing. It's very confusing to me.\"<\/p>\n
One diplomat surmised that by keeping at least one charge in
\nplay, prosecutors could ensure Anwar would not be released on
\nbail while he appeals against his corruption conviction.<\/p>\n
Earlier he was denied bail on the grounds he might tamper with
\nwitnesses. But as there are no witnesses at the appeal stage,
\nthat logic would no longer apply, the diplomat said.<\/p>\n
\"This could reflect a renewed confidence on the government's
\npart, that the electoral situation is not as bad as they had
\nthought,\" a diplomat said. \"Perhaps they think the opposition is
\nnot strong and it is worth it to make the charges stick.\"<\/p>\n
The amended charge alleges that Anwar sodomized his family's
\nformer driver, Azizan Abu Bakar, in 1992. Prosecutors amended the
\ncharge on Tuesday, changing the year to 1992 from 1994.<\/p>\n
Azizan is at the heart of Anwar's legal troubles. The former
\ndriver told the High Court during Anwar's 78-day corruption trial
\nthat his former employer had turned him into a \"sex slave\". But
\nthe court was told Azizan was offered money to accuse Anwar.<\/p>\n
The prosecution decided to put off pursuing four other sodomy
\ncharges and the remaining corruption charge.<\/p>\n
Three men mentioned in three of the sodomy counts have accused
\npolice of forcing them into accusing Anwar, while his former
\nprivate secretary, who still stands by Anwar, is at the heart of
\nthe corruption charge.<\/p>\n
The defense, which for weeks during the corruption trial
\nlistened as Anwar was accused to sexual misconduct only to have
\nthe charges amended to drop the reference to sex, was bracing
\nitself for an all-out attack on Anwar's sexuality.<\/p>\n
\"I'm sure they'll make as it as unpalatable as possible,\" a
\nlawyer said.<\/p>",
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