Mahathir calls Anwar a liar

Wed, 02 May 2001 | Source: AP

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad accused his jailed former protege on Tuesday of concocting "lies" in an effort to go overseas for medical treatment for a back injury.

Mahathir has repeated his position that local doctors have the expertise to treat Anwar Ibrahim's slipped disc and that he will not be allowed to go to a clinic in Germany to receive special endoscopic surgery.

The remarks came a day before Anwar is expected to decide whether he will continue to fight for treatment by the Germany- based specialists or accept the government's insistence that he receive local care.

If Anwar refuses the operation in Malaysia, authorities have said he will be transferred from a hospital where he has been kept since November back to his prison cell.

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