Ibrahim continues his struggle

Ibrahim continues his struggle

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Soon after he was released from jail in September, former
Malaysian deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim said the first
country he would visit would be Indonesia.

Anwar told an Indonesian TV station that, in following
political developments in Indonesia from behind bars, he marveled
at how such a rapid change could transpire.

After joking about his longing for Sundanese food, Anwar said
his true intention for visiting Indonesia was to pay homage and
take lessons from reform movement leaders who had helped usher in
sweeping political changes.

Although Indonesia was actually the third country he visited
after South Africa and Germany, where he received treatment for a
debilitating back injury, Anwar made good on his vow to meet the
leaders, some of whom were friends.

Accompanied by his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and leaders of
the Justice Party, a political party she founded to protest the
harsh treatment of her husband and push his reformist agenda,
Anwar arrived here on Monday for a five-day visit.

At a dinner held to welcome him, Anwar, who is now in good
shape and no longer wheelchair-bound, said he would use the visit
as an opportunity to learn as much as possible from the
Indonesian experience, especially in democracy, freedom, law
enforcement and building civil society.

Despite its myriad problems, Anwar said Indonesian democracy
was far better than that of Malaysia.

"At least Indonesia is more democratic than Malaysia.
Malaysians should learn how, in such a short period, Indonesia
was able to develop its democracy," he told local media.

Apart from his usual criticism of the corruption and cronyism
rampant in Malaysia, Anwar lashed out at his nation's lack of
political and press freedom, comparing it to Indonesia's dark
days under Soeharto.

It is such rallying calls for Malaysian reform that landed
Anwar in jail and cost him his political career.

Once a prodigal son dubbed as the future successor of former
prime minister Mahathir Muhammad, his political career is now in
limbo, as Malaysian law stipulates that convicted criminals
cannot hold public office for five years after their release.

Anwar was convicted of corruption along with sodomy charges --
sentences for which he served concurrently. Having been released
just last April, he will not be able to return to parliament or
assume formal leadership of any party until April 2008.

Anwar's repeated claims -- that the corruption and sexual
misconduct charges were trumped up by Mahathir to derail his
political career -- ring true now, more than ever.

His imprisonment was the climax of a power struggle between
Anwar and Mahathir that had been going on for several years, and
which intensified as the economic crisis worsened. Anwar
increasingly took a pro-free market approach, open to foreign
investment and trade liberalization, while Mahathir advocated
currency control and blamed the West and Western currency
speculators for Malaysia's economic woes.

In the end, Mahathir's policy prevailed and saved the country
from plunging deeper into crisis.

By mid-1998, by borrowing the reform slogan from Indonesia,
Anwar and his supporters within the ruling party, the United
Malays National Organization (UMNO), raised corruption and
nepotism as major political issues, with Mahathir and his
associates their unstated target.

However, the move only resulted in an intensified attack
against Anwar.

In May, 50 Dalil Kenapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Jadi PM (50 reasons
why Anwar should not become prime minister), a book containing
detailed sexual allegations as well as accusations of corruption
against Anwar, was published in Kuala Lumpur.

In early June, the book was circulated at the annual UMNO
meeting, just as Mahathir began strengthening his control over
the party and moving against Anwar.

Preceded by the arrest and litigation against his allies in
UMNO, Anwar was sacked on Sept. 2 as deputy prime minister and
finance minister. One day later, he was expelled from UMNO.

Anwar was arrested at his home in late September amid protests
from some 35,000 supporters who demanded Mahathir's resignation,
and stood trial on charges of corruption and "unnatural sex".

During his detention, Anwar allegedly received harsh treatment
that resulted in his back injury and the much-photographed black
eye, which was later used as the symbol of his wife's Justice
Party.

The cases brought against Anwar, however, were flawed from
their the inception. The alleged victim of the sodomy, his
driver, could not make up his mind about when the misconduct
occurred. At one point, the driver even claimed it had taken
place in a building that did not even exist at the time of the
alleged crime.

The lower courts did not allow Anwar to present an alibi or to
pursue the argument that the charges had been drummed up to keep
him out of politics.

Six years later, the Malaysian economy has recovered and
Mahathir is retired, having left the post he held for decades
last October. Meanwhile, Mahathir's successor, Abdullah Badawi,
has pledged to implement various reforms -- the very same ones
Anwar had been calling for from his cell.

With such substantial changes in the Malaysian political
scene, Anwar may have to rethink his role in politics in the
years to come.

In an interview with the Associated Press soon after he
returned a spinal operation in Germany, Anwar remained
noncommittal about any ambitions to become Malaysian prime
minister.

"That's a long way to go and it's a long time. As a British
prime minister once said, 'a week is a long time in politics',"
he said.