MALAYSIA: Malaysia's opposition yesterday was maintaining its target of toppling the government by mid-September, despite what it says are politically inspired sodomy allegations against leader Anwar Ibrahim.
The opposition, spearheaded by Anwar's People's Justice party, has been wooing defectors from the ruling National Front coalition in its bid to seize power for the first time in Malaysian history.
"Well, optimistically, I think we can keep to the [September] deadline unless we really cannot," said his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is also the parliamentary opposition leader. Any change of power would be smooth and peaceful, she added.
Opinion polls showed most people believe Anwar (60), the father of six children, did not commit sodomy against an aide after he was jailed on a similar charge widely seen as politically motivated a decade ago. That conviction was later overturned.
A survey by the independent Merdeka Centre research firm found just 6 per cent of respondents believed the allegations and almost 60 per cent viewed it as politically motivated.
"It's going to be an uphill battle for the government because you are facing a more cynical public," said the firm's pollster, Ibrahim Suffian.
A separate poll by the independent news website, Malaysiakini( http://www.malaysiakini.com), showed 94 per cent of its respondents believed Mr Anwar was the victim of a conspiracy. The government has denied having anything to do with the case.
The former deputy premier said the sodomy accusation pre-empted his plan to announce he was contesting a parliamentary seat in a byelection. Police are investigating the allegation, but no charges have been filed.
Winning a seat would be the first step on the road to Mr Anwar's wider ambition of leading the opposition to power. The opposition alliance made historic gains in a March 8th general election, winning five of 13 state governments and coming within 30 seats of taking control of the 222-member parliament.
Wan Azizah, a 55-year-old eye doctor by training, said she still had faith in Mr Anwar despite this second sodomy claim in 10 years. He was jailed for six years on a similar charge, but the federal court overturned the conviction in 2004. "The first time it didn't work. So they are trying to do it again. It's not right, it's a complete fabrication. Politically, Anwar was gaining strength. It's a desperate measure," she said.
Sodomy, even when consensual, is punishable by up to 20 years in jail in mainly Muslim Malaysia.
Ms Wan Azizah said she pitied her children who have to endure the agony again. "It saddens me, bothers me, upsets me," she said.
The sodomy case emerged at a time when Mr Abdullah's UMNO party has been riven by dissent after its poll setback in March.
More than 7,000 people turned up at an impromptu rally on Tuesday night in the biggest show of support for Mr Anwar since the aide complained to police at the weekend about an alleged assault at a luxury Kuala Lumpur apartment last Thursday.
Mr Anwar told them he would not sit quietly and allow a repeat of what happened to him 10 years ago. "We will fight. When we take over the country, the first thing we will do is to bring down the price of fuel," he said.
- (Reuters)