Anwar Ibrahim arrested

PlanetOut information about the arrest of Anwar Ibrahim (Malaysia), the Internal Security Act (ISA), and oppression of gays in Asia in general
 
 

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Anwar Jailed After Confessions
NewsPlanet Staff

            Monday, September 21, 1998 / 05:14 PM

SUMMARY: As the protests in his support grow more massive and more violent, and 2 men "confess" to engaging in sodomy with him, the deposed Malaysian deputy prime minister is arrested for jeopardizing national security.

What's generally believed to be a gay-baiting campaign against recently ousted Malaysian deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was ratcheted up a notch this weekend, but it was the Internal Security Act which was used to finally arrest him on September 20, after demonstrations of unprecedented size against prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. It all occurred while the international press were in Kuala Lumpur for the first Commonwealth Games to be held in Asia, but Mahathir prevented transmission of photos of the protests and behaved as if the athletic event was the most significant news of the day.

On September 19, two of Anwar's close male associates pleaded guilty to having been passive sex partners of Anwar and were each sentenced to six months in jail for gross indecency. Sodomy violations can bring much stiffer penalties, including lashing. One of the men, Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja, an Indonesian interior decorator who is Anwar's adopted brother, faced a complaint by Anwar's former private secretary Mohamed Azmin Ali of having engaged in sex with Anwar in April 1998 at his official residence, and said he had gone along with Anwar in gratitude for his help in obtaining Malaysian citizenship. In a separate Sessions Court hearing, the other man, Dr. Munawar Ahmad Aness, a Pakistani with resident status in Malaysia who is Anwar's friend and speechwriter, faced a complaint by Chief Inspector Rajakopal of having engaged in sex with Anwar in March 1993 at Anwar's home in Bukit Damansara, and said he had gone along with Anwar in fear of losing his job. The hearings included explicit details, which have appeared in local media reports. One British reporter described the trial  as "an almost comically rushed and dodgy-looking affair," and Anwar himself marveled that the hearings and sentencing took place within a single day.

A married father of six who has long had a reputation as a clean-living devout Muslim, Anwar held a press conference where he proclaimed, "I say categorically that these are absolutely false charges, without an iota of truth to them. To avoid any doubt whatsoever, I once again clearly and specifically deny that I have been involved in these despicable activities." He claimed that the men had been denied access to legal counsel and to their families, and had been tortured while in custody for more than a week; he bore them no ill will. Although attorneys appeared in court with the men, they apparently were not retained by them or their families, and attorneys who showed up to represent them who apparently had been hired by their families where chased off before the judges heard the cases.

Although ever since he was deposed September 2 Anwar has been touring the country, speaking to enthusiastic crowds of thousands of supporters advocating Mahathir's resignation and the end his government by cronyism, this was the first occasion on which he specifically named Mahathir as part of the "conspiracy" to smear him.
That "conspiracy" began with the appearance of a book called "50 Reasons Why Anwar Cannot Be Prime Minister," which has since been withdrawn from distribution under court order and whose author is facing a lawsuit by Anwar. Police investigations into the allegations in that book led to official depositions accusing him not only of sodomy but of hundreds of instances of adultery and prostitution, accepting bribes, and even treason and possible connection with murder. Anwar's firing from both his cabinet post as finance minister and deputy prime minister and from membership in Mahathir's United Malays National Organization (UMNO) party quickly followed.

At this point Anwar and others were expecting that he would arraigned for the sex charges on September 21, when the Commonwealth Games would be ending. But on September 20, 30 - 50,000 people gathered in Merdeka Square near the National Mosque to hear what turned out to be Anwar's last speech before his arrest. One Internet report purportedly from an eyewitness said that crowd swelled to 100,000 and ultimately to as many as 200,000, filling all four lanes of the highways for miles as they marched on to the Parliament. En route, several thousand trashed the headquarters of the UMNO, and at least 5,000 proceeded several kilometers further towards Mahathir's official residence, chanting for his resignation. While the same purported eyewitness account had the army arriving in jeeps only to join with the marchers in their chanting, there is no question that police massed and took on the crowd with tear gas and water cannons -- while the visiting Queen of England was at Sunday services in a nearby church. One report described the situation as the "largest and most violent demonstrations seen in 30 years."

That night, about 100 police went to Anwar's home and took him into custody. As it transpired, they were not charging him for the sex crimes, but for the actions of the crowds including vandalism, blocking traffic, and threatening national security. Under the Internal Security Act, it may be two weeks before he appears in a courtroom. Reportedly dozens of his young supporters have been arrested since. A heavy police presence has been maintained around the Games and particularly around the Queen, although Anwar had said his supporters had no desire to trouble her in any way.

Meanwhile, on a lighter note, as Australia dominated the Games in both wins and sheer numbers, celebrating Aussie male press photographers were reportedly seen dancing with their South African counterparts "for lack of female company."
 
 
 

      Gay-Baiting in Malay VP's Fall
            NewsPlanet Staff

            Friday, September 4, 1998 / 09:00 PM

      SUMMARY: Amid economic recession and intra-party intrigue, a
      high-ranking and popular pro-reform Maylaysian official stands accused
      of homosexual and other illegal sexual activities.

      Homosexual acts are among a laundry list of allegations against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim,
      who after long appearing to be the heir apparent to Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir
      Mohamad, was this week fired from his posts as Finance Minister and deputy prime
      minister and thrown out of their UMNO (United Malays National Organization) party. He
      remains a Member of Parliament, currently without party affiliation, although it is quite
      possible that he may be jailed soon. Anwar had been well-received by foreign powers in
      his seven years as Finance Minister, and still has many vocal supporters within Malaysia,
      evidenced by as many as 2,000 individuals who demonstrated on his behalf and by a
      statement of concern from 15 human rights organizations. He claims that all of the
      allegations against him were trumped up in a political power play by Mahathir, who Anwar
      says has been "paranoid" ever since the uprising against Indonesia's former President
      Suharto.

      Anwar said at a press conference on September 4, "I am totally surprised and shocked to
      see that the instruments of government could have been used in such a despicable manner
      to stage this conspiracy to oust me. Since they realize that I cannot be defeated in the
      political arena through the democratic process, they resort to dirty and disgusting means,
      to slander me, frame allegations and force witnesses to make false statements. This is an
      unjust administration. If the Number Two man cannot be sure of justice, then I'm sorry for
      Malaysia." Although he expects to be arrested at any time, Anwar has said he will tour the
      country with his message of political reform.

      Anwar also said, "The clear message Mahathir gives is, if you attempt to challenge him
      then you are a threat to national security, you are a foreign agent, you are corrupt, you are
      homosexual, you are a womanizer. But if you choose to be completely loyal to him, you
      are none of those things."

      The allegations against Anwar have been circulating for some months in the form of
      "poison pen letters" and a book entitled "Fifty Reasons Why Anwar Cannot Become
      Prime Minister" ("50 Dalil Mengapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Jadi PM"). Anwar has filed a
      lawsuit against the author for defamation which is still pending. Nonetheless, police have
      been investigating the book's claims, and in the course of that investigation have already
      charged one of Anwar's closest friends, Datuk Nallakaruppan, with a capital offense:
      possession of illegal ammunition.

      In the course of a High Court hearing of Nalla's case on September 3, four affidavits were
      presented. Despite his attorney's pleas to embargo the affidavits while considering their
      application to expunge certain "scandalous" items about "personalities who cannot be here
      to defend themselves," Judge Abdul Wahab Patail allowed them to be made public
      immediately, saying they could be withheld from publication later if necessary. One of them
      was sworn by CID deputy director for Legal/Prosecution Senior Assistant Commissioner
      II Musa Hassan, testifying that seven witnesses had signed statements during the
      investigation. One unnamed male witness had sworn that he was "sodomized" by Anwar
      on 15 occasions, in locations including an apartment owned by Magnum Corporation Ghd,
      a company of which Nalla was public affairs director. Other witnesses had testified to a
      suspected affair between Anwar and his own sister-in-law, an attempted seduction of a
      married woman, and illegal relations with myriad female sex workers of various ethnicities;
      Nalla was presented as instrumental in obtaining the women's sexual services for Anwar.

      Musa's affidavit also claimed a national security risk in that the use of the corporate
      apartment could open Anwar to extortion. The other affidavits also claimed alleged
      national security concerns as a reason for detaining Nalla at the Bukit Aman instead of the
      Sungai Buloh prison, which was the main issue of the September 3 hearing. They were
      sworn by Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah, Prisons Director-General Datuk
      Omar Mohamed Dan and ACP Ramasamy Veerapan. Ramasamy also denied abusive
      treatment of Nalla during interrogation.

      Earlier this year, Anwar failed in a political challenge to Mahathir, and more recently
      Anwar has irritated Mahathir with calls for reform and an end to "cronyism." Last week,
      Malaysia was officially declared to be in a recession, and Mahathir was unwilling to adopt
      Anwar's ideas for shoring up the economy. Although in June Mahathir had sidestepped
      Anwar's Finance Ministry by appointing former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin to
      be a Special Functions minister to deal with the recession, Mahathir now says he will
      temporarily act as Finance Minister himself. He admitted that in the field of economics he
      is, "Not very good actually. The foreign press always says that I don't understand finance
      at all. But I'll try." Mahathir says he'll leave the deputy prime minister post open until after
      next year's elections.