Malaysian Emphasizes Justice : Anwar's Wife: Eye of the Storm
International Herald Tribune
October 6, 1998
Thomas Fuller

The streets around Anwar Ibrahim's house were quiet Monday. Inside, the wife of the imprisoned politician, surrounded by her lawyers, delivered a message that was equally calm and measured.

Azizah Ismail, who now leads the movement that her husband formed last month, said that she was not trying to "topple" the Malaysian government but that Mr. Anwar's coming trial was a "test case" for the system of justice in the country.

"We are not trying to set up something new," she said. "The basic structure is there. All you have to do is remove the oppression."

Absent from the interview were calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad — a call her husband had made during speeches around the country — and gone, too, were the throngs of supporters seated around the house and in the garden.

As a judge on Monday set Mr. Anwar's trial for Nov. 2, the Malaysian political crisis has moved from the streets into a wood-paneled courtroom in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Mr. Anwar repeated Monday his plea of not guilty to charges of sodomy and corruption.

Miss Azizah, who was also in the courtroom Monday, said she spoke only briefly to her husband, who wore a neck brace that doctors gave him during a medical check-up over the weekend. Mr. Anwar, who has bruises on his face and arm, told a judge last week that the police had beat him.

"What my husband started I'm just here to carry on," Miss Azizah said. "Of course they put restrictions on me. They said that I'm not allowed to have rallies or processions, but that doesn't stop the message."

Faced with strong warnings from police, Miss Azizah checked with lawyers several times before answering questions.

She spoke from the living room of her home, where two weeks ago a police commando unit wearing black ski masks smashed through the front door.

The door has not been fixed — Mrs. Azizah says she simply has not had the time — but the house is radically different from the carnival atmosphere when, before his detention, thousands of visitors came to see Mr. Anwar deliver his nightly speeches.

These days, journalists sometimes outnumber protesters at demonstrations in the capital, and the message from Mrs. Azizah is in marked contrast to the bold challenges to Malaysia's leadership issued by her husband.

"This is beyond politics," Miss Azizah said when questioned about the future of her husband's career. "Anwar is a test case for our justice system."

Part of the reason for the toned-down message that Miss Azizah presents is a question of style.

Mr. Anwar is known in Malaysia as one of the country's greatest orators, someone who excels at stirring crowds. As a student, Mr. Anwar founded a radical Islamic movement.

Miss Azizah is soft-spoken eye doctor whose image in Malaysia is that of Muslim piety. She and Mr. Anwar have six children. Her university days were decidedly calmer. Studying medicine in Dublin during the 1970s, fellow students thought she was a "Chinese nun" because of the head scarf she wore.

Whereas Mr. Anwar's calls were overtly political, Mrs. Azizah has focused on justice. She tells supporters, "If the number two of the country can be treated so despicably, what is there left for you?"

"The spark is glowing and spreading," she said of the movement.

Her strongest words Monday were criticism of the way her husband's case is being handled.

In addition to the charges of sodomy and corruption, Mr. Anwar has been detained under the country's Internal Security Act, which allows police to detain people without trial.

Outside of his three courtroom appearances, Mr. Anwar has not been allowed to meet with his family or lawyers. The judge ordered Monday that the police allow him to meet with lawyers, but Miss Azizah said she feared the meetings would be "monitored all the time by the police."

"How can his lawyers work under such conditions?" she asked.

"If there are any political differences, settle it through the ballot box and not through abuse of police power," Miss Azizah said.

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