Mahathir may face arrest if he snubs order to testify

Mahathir may face arrest if he snubs order to testify

KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Defense lawyers in the Anwar Ibrahim
sodomy trial said on Tuesday they may seek a warrant to arrest
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad if he fails to obey a
subpoena to testify.

"By all accounts he (Mahathir) should be in court on Thursday
morning," Anwar's lead counsel Christopher Fernando told
reporters.

"We have already given notice to the prosecution on this and
we don't have to ask the judge in open court (on whether the
premier will attend)."

Asked what would happen if the premier failed to attend,
Fernando said: "We have to look at the next course of action,
probably ask for a warrant of arrest."

High Court Judge Arifin Jaka issued a subpoena in October for
Mahathir to testify, but lengthy testimony by Anwar, a back
ailment that sidelined the judge and general elections delayed
Mahathir's appearance.

Mahathir said in October he would testify if required.

Anwar -- sacked by Mahathir as deputy premier in September
1998 -- says legal proceedings against him stem from a high-level
political conspiracy after he threatened to expose official
corruption.

Fernando, speaking during a break in the case, said
prosecutors had not applied to set aside the subpoena against
Mahathir. Defense sources confirmed it had been served.
Prosecutor Abdul Gani Patail declined comment.

Anwar and his Indonesian adopted brother Sukma Darmawan are
charged with sodomizing Anwar's official driver Azizan Abu Bakar
one night between January and March 1993.

Lawyers for Sukma and not those representing Anwar issued the
subpoena for Mahathir to appear.

Anwar was jailed for six years last April in a separate trial
for abusing his official powers to cover up allegations of sexual
misconduct. If convicted of sodomy, he could face another 20
years' jail.

Mahahtir initially rejected sexual misconduct allegations
against his deputy, dismissing them as rumors similar to those he
had heard about himself, a reporter testified in the Anwar
Ibrahim case on Tuesday.

R. Sivabalan, a reporter for the national Bernama news agency,
told the court that during an interview with Malaysian
journalists on Aug. 24, 1997, Mahathir said anyone who believed
the sex talk about Anwar was "stupid."

"All types of sex, this, that. There is no truth in it. There
is no evidence at all and it is just the usual fitnah," Mahathir
said, using the Malay word for slander.

According to Sivabalan's article, excerpts of which he read in
court, Mahathir told reporters that police had investigated the
allegations against Anwar and the case was considered closed.

He called the sexual allegations "totally and politically
motivated" and said anyone who believed them was "stupid."
Mahathir likened the allegations to those rumors spread about
him.

"I was once linked with a Chinese woman in Singapore,"
Mahathir said.

But a year later, Mahathir himself accused Anwar of
homosexuality and corruption. He sacked him and his government
put him on trial for abuse of power and sodomy, sparking
unprecedented anti-government demonstrations and a growing
opposition movement.

Anwar denies the charges, claiming they are part of a plot to
destroy his political career and punish him for challenging
Mahathir. He is serving a six-year prison term for corruption and
faces another 20 years on the sodomy charge.