Anwar slams police harassment of aides

Anwar slams police harassment of aides

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia's ousted deputy premier, Anwar Ibrahim, accused police on Wednesday of continuing to harass his family, friends and former colleagues following the arrest of a brother over the weekend.

"It is abundantly clear that up to now they do not have a case against me. That is why investigations are still being conducted, arrests are made, my staff are being picked up," Anwar told a news conference at his house, where he has been holed up for six days with supporters and sympathizers.

"But the manner in which they are being arrested and harassed is certainly cruel," he said. "This is not a police state. You have to respect the laws of the country. All the threats and other arrests are being continued to all my family, friends and previous colleagues live in fear."

Although no formal charges have been laid, Anwar has been accused of sexual impropriety, jeopardizing national security, bribery, interfering with police investigations, tampering with evidence, abuse of power and sedition.

Anwar says the allegations are part of a high-level conspiracy.

The ruling party's youth wing in the northern state of Penang, meanwhile, come out in support of Anwar ahead of a national gathering of youth leaders on Thursday.

The move was not entirely unexpected as Anwar headed the party liaison committee in Penang before his expulsion last week.

But analysts said it marked the first sign of formal dissent within the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), many of whose members remain confused over Anwar's dismissal by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Abdul Rahim Mohamad Ghouse, the UMNO Youth chief in Penang, said local members would send a memorandum to Mahathir expressing support for the prime minister while urging him to accept Anwar back into the party. Before his expulsion, Anwar was deputy president of the party under Mahathir, who is president.

"We are working on the memorandum. We will submit it on Friday or Saturday, " Abdul Rahim told AFP.

"We appeal to the prime minister to accept Anwar back based on the good relations between the two. We urge them to continue to work as a team together," he said.

Abdul Rahim said nine of 11 youth division chiefs agreed to send the memorandum to Mahathir at a meeting in Penang on Tuesday evening.

"One division chief did not come while the other opposed Anwar's return," he said.

Support

The support for Anwar came ahead of a national gathering of 25 UMNO youth leaders in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, described by one party official as "special meeting to discuss the Anwar crisis."

UMNO Youth leader Zahid Hamidi, a staunch supporter of Anwar, is to chair the meeting which comes only two days after Mahathir's address to an emergency meeting of some 2,000 party members on Tuesday.

The special meeting of the youth wing is also expected to discuss the fate of Zahid and other youth leaders linked to Anwar, other sources said.

Mahathir told a news conference on Tuesday his decision to fire Anwar was based on "moral" grounds rather than being politically-motivated.

Ibrahim Ali, a member of the UMNO supreme council which expelled Anwar last week, urged party youth leaders to act "rationally" at Thursday's meeting and "take into account the interests of the party and country."

He also defended Mahathir's action in firing Anwar, saying the prime minister "had to act immediately, which is in accordance with Islam."

"We cannot wait for the police to complete their investigations and the courts to decide the judgment," Ibrahim said.