Dissident leader Anwar Ibrahim to face open trial
Dissident leader Anwar Ibrahim to face open trial
KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Malaysian authorities announced on Thursday the country's dissident leader Anwar Ibrahim would soon go on open trial where the world could see he was safe and sound.
Trying to combat a growing image problem for Malaysia abroad, authorities denounced reporting of the past week's unrest and said foreign news organizations would not be allowed to use the state-owned broadcaster to transmit "negative stories".
There was no letup in the security clampdown on the nation of 22 million people with Malaysia's police chief Abdul Rahim Noor warning forces would take tough action to stop protests against Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad's 17-year-old rule.
"We will come down hard on them," Rahim Noor told a news conference when asked what the police would do if there was another protest in Merdeka (Freedom) Square.
"He (Anwar) is safe and sound, not to worry. He is within our custody. There will be a fair trial, that's our system. It's an open court, very much a British system," Rahim Noor said.
Anwar has not been seen in public since he was arrested on Sunday night after leading a demonstration through the capital. His wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, has expressed concern over his health and said she fears he might be injected with the virus that causes AIDS to support allegations he committed sodomy.
Anwar is being held under the Internal Security Act, which permits indefinite detention without trial, but has not been indicted.
Rahim Noor said the former cabinet minister would be charged soon, but he declined to elaborate.
Mahathir on Thursday brushed off allegations of widespread corruption and cronyism by Anwar. The veteran leader fired a new attack on the western media following the release of an Anwar video, saying Malaysia was powerless to counter reports about the country.
Asked about allegations of corruption and cronyism by Anwar in a video made before his arrest on Sunday, Mahathir told a news conference: "Yes, of course. I'm remaining in power because of my crony(ism) and family.
"And you are free to air this every half an hour because you own the media and you can tell lies to the whole world and influence the whole world against us," Mahathir said, referring to CNBC Asia, the Singapore-based business news broadcaster, which showed the video.
Anwar's wife, Azizah, who has said she has taken over her husband's protest movement, is under investigation by police for sedition and inciting hatred among Malaysians for her AIDS comments.
For the first time, police on Thursday prevented reporters from entering Anwar's compound, where more than a dozen police were posted, blocking both front and back entrances.
Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang called the clampdown on Anwar's residence "unfair, undemocratic and another example of excessive use of force or abuse of the existing laws".
Rahim Noor criticized the foreign media for its portrayal of political strife in one of the world's largest commodity exporters.
Information Minister Mohamed Rahmat said apart from banning foreign news organizations from using state-owned broadcaster RTM to transmit images relating to Anwar, he was considering several other options to counter "negative reports" by the foreign press.
The Malaysian government's anger was not just directed against the foreign press.
Malaysia has made an official protest against remarks by Australian Prime Minister John Howard who had said he was concerned over an apparent drift "towards an authoritarian approach" in Malaysia.
Malaysian officials were also understood to be unhappy at remarks by Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong who has said the events in Malaysia had created political uncertainty that could dampen investor confidence in the region.