Group wants Anwar trial in Malay

Group wants Anwar trial in Malay

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): The decision by a judge to conduct the
trial of Malaysia's chief dissident in English instead of the
local language has drawn criticism, a newspaper reported on
Wednesday.

The Malaysian National Writers Association said in a statement
that conducting Anwar Ibrahim's trial in English for the benefit
of an international audience will mean "sacrificing the position
and dignity of the Malay language".

The group called for a review of the decision, the New Straits
Times daily said.

About half of the 22 million Malaysians speak Malay while the
remaining speak Chinese dialects, Tamil and other regional
languages.

On Monday, High Court Judge Augustine Paul ruled that the
trial of Malaysia's former deputy premier be conducted in English
"so that justice can be seen to be done".