Anwar supporters defect to UMNO

Anwar supporters defect to UMNO

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): About 50 members of jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim's opposition party from his hometown in northern Malaysia defected to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's ruling group on Monday, a news report said.

The defections in Permatang Pauh, which Anwar represented in Parliament for 16 years until he was sacked by Mahathir in 1998, were the latest in a long line of desertions to hit the National Justice Party in recent months.

The rift in the new and fragile party became public when two top leaders openly traded accusations last month and hundreds of members reportedly left. Anwar's wife, Azizah Ismail, who heads the party and represents Permatang Pauh in Parliament, has tried to stay out of the internal strife.

The defectors met on Monday with Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and promised to support the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), which has dominated Malaysian politics since the Southeast Asian nation became independent in 1957, the national news agency, Bernama, said.