Jailed Anwar still a force in politics

Jailed Anwar still a force in politics

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Former Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim, sentenced to nine years in jail on Tuesday for sodomy, remains a force in Malaysian politics from behind bars.

Anwar's sacking in September 1998 united a disparate opposition, posing one of the biggest challenges to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad since he assumed power 19 years ago.

Tuesday's ruling by High Court Judge Arifin Jaka will keep Anwar in jail at least until 2009 -- prisoners who show good behavior generally serve two thirds of their terms -- and out of public office until five years from his release from prison.

But sporadic anti-government street demonstrations and a weakening of support for Mahathir from his party's Muslim Malay base underscore Anwar's continuing political clout.

Once prime-minister-in-waiting, Anwar was sacked on Sept. 2, 1998, and put behind bars 18 days later.

He was sentenced to six years in jail in April 1999 for abuse of power and on Tuesday received a second, consecutive nine-year prison term at the end of a controversial 14-month trial on a sodomy charge.

Anwar, who turns 53 on Thursday, denies the charges, saying he was framed by Mahathir and associates to ensure he would never succeed his former mentor and expose corruption and cronyism.

The prime minister denies the accusations, saying he sacked Anwar because he was morally unfit to rule.

Since his ouster, the former deputy prime minister's ghost has haunted Mahathir's ruling party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), where he once served as deputy president.

Thousands of his mostly Malay supporters have taken to the streets since September 1998, demanding that Mahathir step down.

In last November's general elections, conservative Muslims who formed an electoral pact with the Parti Keadilan Nasional (National Justice Party) led by Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, gained ground against UMNO.

Human rights groups say Anwar is a political prisoner, and his supporters compare him to former South African President Nelson Mandela, who rose to power after years in jail.

Anwar was dumped in the midst of Asia's financial crisis, which opened up a rift between Anwar and a business elite close to the prime minister.

Tensions that arose as a decade-long economic boom came to an end highlighted the two leaders' different styles.

Suave and articulate, Anwar rubbed shoulders with international financiers and was eventually equated with the economic orthodoxy that the acerbic Mahathir said mortgaged Malaysia's future to foreign interests.

Anwar's initial prescription -- tight money and budget surpluses -- was in line with recommendations by the International Monetary Fund but exacerbated Malaysia's first slowdown in 13 years.

The downfall of Indonesian President Soeharto in May 1998 emboldened Anwar's supporters, and his speeches were seen as a threat to Mahathir, now Asia's longest serving elected leader.

"When people have truly decided on internal reform, neither the political elite nor their cronies, be they in business or media or anywhere else, will be able to withstand the groundswell," Anwar said in a speech in June 1998.

Tensions between Mahathir and Anwar broke into the open during their party's annual general assembly in June 1998 when a then Anwar protege denounced cronyism -- a code word for Mahathir's powerful business friends.

A book, Fifty Reasons Why Anwar Ibrahim Cannot Become Prime Minister, was distributed at the assembly, detailing a long list of allegations of sexual misconduct by Anwar.

The two men were at pains to conceal their growing differences until Mahathir on Sept. 2 delivered an ultimatum to his deputy to resign from the cabinet.

Anwar refused and was sacked.

Anwar might have faded into oblivion if his supporters, many of them members of a younger generation hoping for a change in leadership, had not spontaneously taken up the Indonesian students' rally cry of Reformasi (reform).

Anwar was arrested on Sept. 20 after leading 30,000 anti- government protesters through the capital. He was later charged with sodomy and corruption, and appeared in court in late September with a black eye and bruises.

Images of Anwar's injuries sparked international outrage. A police investigation failed to identify the assailant, but former police chief Abdul Rahim Noor finally admitted that he hit Anwar. Rahim was sentenced in June to two months jail and a 2,000 ringgit ($525) fine. He has appealed against the verdict.

Born on Aug. 10, 1947, Anwar went to the Malay College in the northern town of Kuala Kangsar, one of Malaysia's top schools, and made his name as a firebrand Islamic youth leader.

He was jailed for 20 months under the sweeping Internal Security Act beginning in 1974 for leading anti-government demonstrations against impoverished conditions in the north.

Mahathir invited him to join UMNO in 1982 to bridge the gap between the party's Malay nationalist badge and its rising Islamic aspirations.

Under Mahathir's charge, Anwar's rise was meteoric. He held a string of senior cabinet posts, including the ministries of agriculture and education, and had been finance minister since 1991 before being sacked.

Anwar is married to former eye doctor Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who now leads the opposition Parti Keadilan Nasional. The couple have six children, five girls and a boy.