Anwar still a priority, says Malaysian opposition party

Anwar still a priority, says Malaysian opposition party

KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): The Malaysian opposition party led by
Anwar Ibrahim's wife said on Sunday that the jailed former deputy
premier remained the priority of its struggle but stressed it was
not a single-issue party.

Wrapping-up a three-day annual assembly on Sunday, the
Keadilan party also adopted a motion calling for immediate
investigation into claims that Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
ordered a halt to an anti-corruption inquiry.

The party's deputy president Chandra Muzaffar said Keadilan
was not set up "merely to free" Anwar, but he remained an
important factor in the party's struggle more than one year after
it's formation.

"We give priority to his case because it is the most glaring
example of unfairness in the country involving many (public)
institutions," he told AFP.

Chandra said the party's goals were broad-based, to fight
corruption and seek justice. He said the main task for Keadilan
now was to bolster its position to challenge the ruling coalition
in the next general election.

"We feel we are on a much stronger wicket now than we were
earlier. We certainly have support and we want to build on that
multi-ethnic support. That is our biggest challenge," he added.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said in an
interview with the local media that he hoped to succeed Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad as the country's leader, despite the
downfall of Mahathir's previous deputies.

"God willing, I'll be there," Abdullah was quoted as saying in
the New Sunday Times newspaper when asked if he saw himself
succeeding Mahathir. "Who doesn't want to be promoted," he said.

Mahathir's first deputy Musa Hitam resigned in 1986 over
differences of opinion with Mahathir. Ghafar Baba quit in 1993
after he lost the race for deputy president of the ruling United
Malays National Organization party to Anwar in party elections
that year.

Traditionally the leader of UMNO has served as prime minister
while the UMNO deputy president has also been deputy prime
minister. Mahathir is president of UMNO.

Abdullah is seen by political analysts as a relatively
unambitious politician, willing to bide his time. His lack of
charisma, especially compared to Anwar, are seen as being
compensated for by his piety and respect from among UMNO's
grassroots supporters in rural areas.

Asked if he saw the eventual reunification of UMNO with the
country's main Muslim opposition party, Parti Islam se-Malaysia
(PAS), Abdullah said: "Now people are talking about it again, for
PAS and UMNO to unite."

"We just listen. I think there is room for dialog," he said.
PAS split from UMNO in 1951, and now controls the northern states
of Kelantan and Terrenganu. The Barisan Nasional (National Front)
coalition of 14 parties, of which UMNO is the biggest component
party, controls the rest of the country's 11 states and the
Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur.

Keadilan, formed in April 1999 with an eye logo symbolizing
both Anwar's injuries from a beating in custody and the "eye of
justice", won five seats in last November's elections.

But it has been derided by the ruling coalition as existing
solely to free Anwar.

Anwar was sacked as deputy premier and finance minister in
September 1998, and jailed for six years in April last year for
abuse of power. He is now on trial for sodomy, which is
punishable by a further 20 years.

Earlier, Chandra told reporters that the party passed a last-
minute resolution reiterating its call for the attorney-general
to probe claims that Mahathir halted an anti-corruption inquiry.
"If there is no response from the (attorney general), we want a
royal commission of inquiry to be set up to investigate this
matter," he said.

The claims were made in court earlier this month by a defense
witness in Anwar's sodomy trial.

Shafee Yahaya, former head of the Anti-Corruption Agency, has
testified that Mahathir in June 1998 ordered him to drop an
inquiry into a senior official who later became central bank
governor.

Keadilan and other opposition parties last week urged the
attorney-general to investigate the allegations.