King calls on divided Malay Muslims to unite

King calls on divided Malay Muslims to unite

KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Malaysia's king on Monday called for
the country's Muslims to heal their divisions, lending royal
weight to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's call for Malay unity
talks with the country's Islamic opposition.

Sultan Salahuddin Aziz, the country's constitutional monarch,
in a televised address marking the Muslim New Year, said the
destruction of the Muslim community, called ummah, must be
averted.

"The annihilation of the ummah is a nightmare that haunts us
and we must not let this fear become reality," the king said,
according to Bernama news agency.

The Muslim Malay ethnic majority, who account for 55 percent
of Malaysia's 22 million people, were badly split by the
humiliation of Mahathir's former deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, currently
serving a 15-year jail sentence sex and graft crimes.

The fate of Anwar, who says he was framed to forestall a
challenge to Mahathir, remains the single most divisive issue
among Malays.

On Monday, the Malaysian government said Anwar, who has been
in hospital for four months with back pain, was making political
capital out of his condition.

The former deputy premier took the "opportunity to drag" the
situation by requesting to go abroad for spinal surgery even
though local experts were capable of treating him, Foreign
Minister Syed Hamid Albar said.

There has been "tremendous pressure from abroad" amid a
perception that Anwar has been denied medical treatment, he said.

"Anwar is making use of his medical condition -- which is very
sad -- as a political gambit for him to say to the world that he
has been unjustly treated, that he has been badly treated,
therefore he wants to get out of the country," Syed Hamid told a
news conference.

"When he gets out of the country, I think he knows best what
he wants to do ... but what we are saying is that the situation
does not arise. He has to be treated here."

Lawyer Sankara Nair told AFP that he would meet Anwar on
Monday to decide the next course of action, which could include
suing the government for denying Anwar his legal rights.

Mahathir's United Malays National Organization (UMNO) won less
than half the Malay votes in the last election, a year and a half
ago, and his coalition depends on support from parties
representing the country's Chinese and Indian, largely non-
Muslim, minorities.

Malaysia was rocked earlier this month by racial violence in
which six people died in a poor area outside Kuala Lumpur after
clashes between Malays and ethnic Indians. A string of subsequent
attacks on Indians raised police suspicions that a gang of Malay
extremists could be involved.

The King said political differences should be set aside if the
country's Muslims are to avoid jeopardizing their future
prosperity.

Mahathir has sought talks with leaders of Parti Islam se-
Malaysia (PAS), which leads the four party opposition front,
since the start of the year as a way of winning back favor with
the country's Muslim Malay ethnic majority.

PAS backed out of talks at the eleventh hour last month,
presenting a set of pre-conditions and saying the timing was bad.
PAS and UMNO are holding technical level talks to clear obstacles
to a meeting of their leaders.

The country's figurehead rulers last week appeased PAS
somewhat, by supporting its right to use Islam in the name of a
political party, despite objections from UMNO.

The conference of rulers, which groups Malaysia's sultans and
state governors, said it was alright to have an Islamic name so
long as it did not confuse people or deviate from true Muslim
teachings.

Muslim clerics running PAS usually deliver their message
during Friday prayers at the mosque or at specially organized
social/religious gatherings.

According to a news report on Monday, the national police
chief had urged his force to brace itself for what he predicts
will be a challenging year ahead.

"Unhealthy politicking such as anti-government campaigns,
street demonstrations and illegal assemblies are expected to
continue throughout the year," Inspector General of Police Norian
Mai said in a speech on Sunday to mark Police Day.

"These, coupled with a sluggish economy, will affect the job
market adversely," Norian was quoted as saying by The Star daily.