Anwar Ibrahim's wife launches new political party
Anwar Ibrahim's wife launches new political party
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): The wife of ousted Malaysian deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim launched a new political party on Sunday and appealed to opposition groups to unite to oust Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
"Political parties and non-government organizations must work together and set aside their differences in order to free Malaysia from continuing stranglehold of crisis and oppression," said Azizah Ismail, president of the National Justice Party (Keadilan).
"Our party is prepared to sacrifice its own interests in order to achieve the larger goal of forging a credible alternative to the Barisan Nasional (National Front)," she told a cheering crowd of about 3,000.
Anwar himself, in a message from jail, fiercely attacked Mahathir and what he called corruption and cronyism.
Other key personalities in the party are Chandra Muzaffar, a wheelchair-bound critic of Mahathir, Tian Chua, chairman of the Coalition for People's Democracy, and Marina Yusuf, a former member of the premier's UMNO supreme council.
Mahathir is the president of the dominant United Malays National Organization. He is also the chairman of the ruling National Front coalition and has ruled Malaysia for 17 years.
Mahathir, meanwhile, has been admitted to a heart institute with a lung infection, the official Bernama news agency said on Sunday.
Bernama said the 73-year-old leader had been at the National Heart Center since last Friday after his return from Saudi Arabia where the premier performed haj.
The Prime Minister's Department, in a brief statement on Sunday, described his condition as "stable" and that he would remain in hospital for a few days.
The government's term does not expire until April next year but there is speculation it will call a snap election amid signs of economic recovery.
Anwar, 52, once Mahathir's heir apparent, launched the reform movement after he was sacked from his office and from UMNO last September. He was subsequently arrested and jailed and has been charged with 10 counts of corruption and sodomy.
He is on trial on four of the corruption charges, which allege abuse of his official powers to cover up sexual misconduct allegations. The hearing ended last Thursday and the verdict is due on April 14.
Pointing out the party logo of an eye, Azizah said it was a symbol both of its struggle for truth and justice and of the infamous black eye incident.
"It is a symbol of our quest for the truth. It is a symbol of our struggle for justice itself -- 'eye' that seeks justice," she added.
Rahim Noor, national police chief at the time, has admitted assaulting Anwar while he was in police custody. Anwar's subsequent appearance in court with a black eye sparked international outrage.
Anwar described the formation of Keadilan as inevitable and launched a stinging attack on Mahathir.
"Our country is in the grip of a severe crisis which finds its root causes in widespread corruption, abuse of power and the practice of nepotism and cronyism," he said in a speech read out by his former aide, Mohamad Ezam Noor.
"Mahathir and his minions will continue to orchestrate massive campaigns to instill fear towards the reform movement."
Anwar appealed to UMNO members to fight what he called oppression and injustice. "Truth and justice must transcend political boundaries."
Anwar is not a member of the new party but officials said he would offer his support in a move to unify the opposition. He has said he expects to be found guilty on April 14 and go to jail.