PM Mahathir denounced as Anwar leaves home<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): To cries of \"Down with Mahathir!\",
\nMalaysia's sacked finance minister Anwar Ibrahim on Friday
\naddressed several thousand cheering supporters outside a mosque
\nin the heart of the capital.<\/p>\n
Anwar, under threat of arrest, ventured from his neighborhood
\nfor the first time since his dismissal last week and prayed in a
\npacked mosque in the capital.<\/p>\n
He then took a microphone and, his voice hoarse after a week
\nof speeches to supporters, spoke for about 20 minutes to the
\nagitated crowd which filled the mosque and spilled outside.<\/p>\n
\"The police are still investigating why I have been sacked and
\nshamed,\" Anwar said. \"They have no proof, so they are still
\ninvestigating.\"<\/p>\n
Anwar's foray into central Kuala Lumpur came hours before the
\nscheduled opening of the 16th Commonwealth Games which Prime
\nMinister Mahathir Mohamad was to attend.<\/p>\n
Two policemen sat in a car nearby and one was stationed inside
\nthe mosque, but they made no move to intervene, witnesses said.<\/p>\n
The crowd which had gathered for Friday congregational prayers
\nintermittently interrupted Anwar's remarks, shouting \"Reformasi\"
\n(Reform), \"Allahu Akbar\" (God is Greatest), \"Long Live Anwar\" and
\n\"Down with Mahathir\".<\/p>\n
Mahathir dismissed Anwar as deputy prime minister and finance
\nminister on Sept. 2.<\/p>\n
While he has given no detailed explanation for the sacking,
\nMahathir has said his former heir-apparent was morally unfit to
\nserve.<\/p>\n
Anwar is under investigation over allegations of sexual
\nmisconduct, treason and other crimes which he denies. The former
\ncabinet minister has said he was a victim of a high-level
\nconspiracy by political opponents.<\/p>\n
Anwar has been delivering nightly speeches at his house before
\nthousands of supporters who have taken up the slogan,
\n\"Reformasi!\" (Reform).<\/p>\n
Mahathir said on Thursday that police would indict Anwar once
\nthey had gathered sufficient evidence, and the federal police
\nchief was quoted as saying the investigation was nearing
\ncompletion.<\/p>\n
Anwar has said he might be arrested under the Internal
\nSecurity Act, which allows detention without charge, and
\nopposition politicians have said they fear a crackdown.<\/p>\n
\"If they want to use the police, use the courts, go ahead, I
\nwill never surrender. We will never surrender,\" Anwar told the
\ncrowd, which responded in chorus: \"We will not surrender.\"<\/p>\n
\"If one falls, one thousand more will rise,\" Anwar said.<\/p>\n
Some members of the crowd shouted at cameramen, telling them
\nto stop filming the gathering, but there was no pushing or
\nviolence, witnesses said.<\/p>\n
Anwar accused the government of having told the mosque
\ncommittee not to allow him to speak.<\/p>\n
\"I do not want the economy to be controlled by only two or
\nthree people,\" he said. \"We want to protect justice. We want our
\nMoslem scholars to be protected.\"<\/p>\n
Anwar made light of newspaper allegations of homosexuality on
\nhis part and numerous sexual liaisons. \"Of course all the
\nprostitutes know me and some dream of sleeping with me,\" he said.<\/p>\n
It was the first time Anwar had left his suburban
\nneighborhood on the western outskirts of Kuala Lumpur since he
\nwas dismissed from the cabinet last week.<\/p>\n
Anwar said he planned to travel to Bangi, near the site of the
\nCommonwealth Games complex, later on Friday.<\/p>\n
The games' opening ceremony was set for Friday evening at 8:30
\np.m. (7:30 Jakarta time) and was to be witnessed by King Tuanku
\nJa'afar and Mahathir.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pm-mahathir-denounced-as-anwar-leaves-home-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}