Anwar may suffer from a different poison

Anwar may suffer from a different poison

KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Initial tests on Anwar Ibrahim
suggest he was not poisoned with arsenic but doctors suspect the
jailed politician suffers from another type of poisoning, a top
hospital official said in a news report on Wednesday.

Khalid Abdul Kadir, director of the National University
Hospital, said there were no signs that Anwar was "seriously ill"
based on a round of complete tests conducted on the former deputy
prime minister, who was admitted on Sept. 10.

"There are also no signs to verify that he does indeed suffer
from (arsenic) poisoning," Khalid was quoted as saying in the
Malay-language daily Utusan Malaysia.

The report quoted Khalid as saying that Anwar would remain
hospitalized and undergo further tests since he could be
experiencing a different sort of poisoning.

However, Khalid later called the news report of sensationalism
and insisted that there was still no proof that Anwar wasn't
being poisoned with arsenic, reported the national news agency
Bernama.

"We still do not know all the test results and are waiting for
the complete laboratory tests before we issue any conclusive
reports," he said.

Anwar's family and lawyers claim that political enemies tried
to poison the former No. 2 leader based on test results from an
Australian lab showing high levels of arsenic in his body.

The government has dismissed Anwar's poisoning allegations as
a political ploy ahead of upcoming general elections. Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad even suggested that Anwar's family
might have provided the poison for his urine.

Anwar had been fired last September by Mahathir, who claimed
he was corrupt and had committed sodomy, a crime in this
predominantly Muslim nation. Anwar was convicted of abuse of
power and sentenced to six years in prison. He says all the
charges against him were crafted to end his challenge to
Mahathir.

The ongoing sodomy trial of Anwar, who is serving a six-year
jail term for corruption, has been postponed until his release
from the hospital.

Khalid wrote a letter to the court last Friday asking for the
adjournment because Anwar was "not fit" to attend trial. He
listed ailments including a lung and respiratory problem and high
blood pressure that dropped when he stood up.

In the report published Wednesday based on an interview a day
earlier, Khalid said that Anwar's condition had improved.

Anwar's hospitalization sparked a fresh wave of massive anti-
government protests in the capital, Kuala Lumpur. Demonstrators
demanded an end to Mahathir's 18-year rule and justice for Anwar.

In what appears to be a crackdown on dissent, police have
arrested seven prominent activists for their alleged role in the
protests.

On Wednesday, the opposition leader in Parliament Lim Kit
Siang called for a royal commission of inquiry to take over
investigations of the poisoning allegations.

"Government credibility has plunged to a new low in the past
12 days as a result of the ham-fisted manner in which the ...
government, spearheaded by the prime minister himself, tried to
discredit the allegation of Anwar's arsenic poisoning," Lim said
in a statement.

Separately, officials said on Wednesday that Anwar had
officially joined the opposition National Justice Party
(Keadilan) headed by his wife.

Anwar became a member on Sept. 15 and has been made the
party's adviser, giving the party its first parliamentary seat
since it was formed in April.

Anwar has been the member of parliament for Permatang Pauh in
northern Penang state since 1982, but his MP status is still
pending an appeal against a six-year jail sentence given in April
for abuse of power.

A Malaysian MP is disqualified if jailed for more than a year
or fined over 2,000 ringgit (US$526).

Keadilan has written to the lower house to ask it to move
Anwar from the government benches and place him with other
opposition leaders, party secretary-general Anuar Tahir said in a
statement.