Anwar backers protest after verdict delay
Anwar backers protest after verdict delay
KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Supporters of former Malaysian finance minister Anwar Ibrahim defied government orders and demonstrated in the capital on Friday, a day after a court abruptly postponed the verdict in his sex trial.
Some 300 anti-government protesters and leaders of the opposition Parti Keadilan Nasional (National Justice Party) shouted reformasi (reform). Several carried portraits of Anwar.
Police moved in, broke up the demonstration and made several arrests. A Keadilan leader said seven people were detained. Witnesses saw three detained, including N. Gobalakrishnan, a leader of Keadilan, which is headed by Anwar's wife, Azizah Ismail.
The protesters were scattered outside the court house building, which is opposite Merdeka (Freedom) Square, scene of some of the worst anti-government protests in Malaysia's recent history following Anwar's sacking, arrest and jailing.
"We told them to break up. But they refused to. So, we had to make the arrest," a police official said.
Apart from the odd scuffle, the protest ended peacefully. Authorities had earlier expected the demonstration to continue after Muslim Friday prayers.
It was the first street protest since mid-April, the anniversary of Anwar's jailing on an abuse of power charge.
"We are here today to support the struggle of Anwar Ibrahim. But the courts are afraid of people's power," said Tian Chua, vice president of Keadilan.
The government has denied having a hand in the postponement of the verdict.
Tian, along with 30 other people, earlier on Friday turned up for a separate trial for alleged involvement in an earlier pro- Anwar protest. That hearing was also postponed.
Hundreds of police in riot gear and armored vehicles, including water cannon, took up positions in the capital at dawn in anticipation of the protest.
Police helicopters hovered over the city's main square as the demonstration caused traffic snarls in downtown Kuala Lumpur. The security cordon was also tightened around the national mosque, the center of some other pro-Anwar demonstrations.
High Court judge Arifin Jaka on Thursday postponed the verdict in Anwar's sodomy trial which had been due on Friday. Anwar's supporters had planned to gather in the capital ahead of the judgment and protest if he was convicted.
Police warned that any gathering would be illegal without authorization and vowed a crackdown. Under Malaysian law, any public assembly of more than five persons needs police approval. The sodomy trial closed in July, 13 months after it began, and was one of the longest criminal cases in Malaysia.
Anwar and his adopted brother, Sukma Dermawan, face a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail and whipping if convicted on a charge of sodomizing their former family driver in 1993.
Anwar, sacked as finance minister and deputy prime minister in September 1998, says Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his associates framed him in a sex scandal to drive him from office and to stave off a possible leadership challenge.
Mahathir has denied the charge. Thousands took to the streets after Anwar's sacking in September 1998 to demand the resignation of Mahathir.
In another development, in a statement on Friday, Rights Commission Chairman Musa Hitam said he was insulted by a ruling party official's criticism of his statement upholding Malaysian citizens' right to political protest.
The government-appointed panel said earlier this week that Malaysians had a right to demonstrate peacefully when a High Court announced its verdict in Anwar's sodomy trial.
The country's first Rights Commission of 13 judges, politicians and academics was formed in April. Its mandate is to investigate complaints and advise the government on new laws to protect rights abuses.