Anwar's Arrest and Injuries Shake Faith in the Country : In Malaysia, Sense of Disbelief 
International Herald Tribune
October 1, 1998
Thomas Fuller

When Anwar Ibrahim appeared in court here with bruises around his left eye and on his arms — injuries that he asserted had been inflicted by the police — it was a jolt for Malaysians, who just a month earlier regarded Mr. Anwar as the heir apparent to become Malaysia's next leader.

But high aides to Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad asserted on Wednesday something that many Malaysians might find even more unsettling: They said the prime minister did not know about Mr. Anwar's injuries until the former deputy prime minister appeared in court Tuesday to be charged, 10 days after the beating was said to have occurred.

An aide to Mr. Mahathir said the prime minister was "angry" when he learned of the incident.

If he did not know earlier, that could be seen as raising serious questions about Mr. Mahathir's control over the country at a time when Malaysia is confronted by its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from Britain in 1957.

Mr. Mahathir, 72, is prime minister, home minister and — since the dismissal of Mr. Anwar on Sept. 2 — finance minister, a heavy burden for a man of any age.

He has no clear successor.

As home minister, he is charged with overseeing the police. If Mr. Mahathir did not know about Mr. Anwar's bruises, it suggests that the police acted on their own.

It remains possible, of course, that Mr. Mahathir knew about Mr. Anwar's injuries and that his denial was to transfer responsibility to the police.

Mr. Anwar told the court that the police had beaten him "until blood seeped down my nose," leaving him half-conscious.

He said that despite severe swelling around his left eye, he was refused care for five days.

The issue of Mr. Anwar, whose dismissal and imprisonment on charges of sodomy and corruption set off the largest political demonstrations in the country's history, strains the Mahathir government's credibility just as the country urgently needs strong leadership.

The major newspapers, although tightly controlled by the government, gave prominence Wednesday to Mr. Anwar's allegations.

"All Malaysians are asking how they could be safe when a former deputy prime minister could be brutally assaulted by the police while in police custody," said Lim Kit Siang, head of the parliamentary opposition.

Mr. Lim said he did not rule out a possibility Mr. Mahathir did not know of the beating. "This, of course," he said, "raises more alarming questions about the state of governance in the country."

Mr. Mahathir stressed:

"This government will not accept any police action that is not allowed under the law. They cannot beat detainees even in the interrogation process."

The police have been rough in recent days in breaking up largely peaceful pro-Anwar demonstrations. Television footage has captured plainclothes police kicking protesters in the head as they tried to protect themselves.

One man detained by the police earlier this week, Tian Chua, spoke to Reuters on his mobile phone while seated in a police truck.

He said he saw police officers using their batons, "beating demonstrators as they held them up against police trucks."

This is the first time that the police have been faced with street protests on this scale.

Although Malaysia is a generally open and free society, organized protests against the government have never been tolerated.

Mr. Mahathir said last week that the police "could not use kid-glove methods" in dealing with protesters.

Copyright © 2006 the International Herald Tribune