Malaysia Police Question Wife of Jailed Dissident
International Herald Tribune
September 24, 1998
Thomas Fuller

Malaysian police Wednesday questioned the wife of the ousted deputy prime minister and tightened restrictions on the country's month-old opposition movement, banning further political rallies.

Azizah Ismail, wife of Anwar Ibrahim, now under arrest, was asked about statements she made this week, including comments on a regional television network in which she raised the possibility that Mr. Anwar would be injected with the HIV virus. Police said the comment was seditious.

Miss Azizah announced earlier in the week — after her husband's arrest on Sunday — that she would lead the opposition movement that Mr. Anwar started after being dismissed as deputy prime minister and finance minister on Sept. 2.

But with a heavy police presence around her house and the ban on rallies, the prospects of a continuing challenge to the 17-year rule of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad seem dim.

Outside a courthouse where Miss Azizah made a brief appearance Wednesday, a man who shouted "reformasi!" (reform) as she walked past was handcuffed and hauled away by plainclothes policemen.

In Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, the streets of the city were calm, a contrast to Sunday, when Mr. Anwar led the largest demonstration in the city's history. Those protests were followed by clashes with police on Monday and the arrest of Mr. Anwar's closest political allies.

So far, more than 130 people have been arrested for disturbances related to Mr. Anwar. Two of his aides were ordered released by the courts this week, despite police applications to extend their detention. Mohamad Ahmad, released Wednesday, and Azmin Ali, released Tuesday, were private secretaries to Mr. Anwar.

For two weeks before his imprisonment, Mr. Anwar, 51, had toured the country speaking to large crowds about the need for reform with little police interference.

With the announcement Wednesday, authorities will enforce laws that prohibit rallies by those who have not obtained a police permit.

In an interview on Tuesday, Mr. Mahathir, 72, said police had not acted earlier to stop the protests, partly because they felt they were under a spotlight from visiting dignitaries and athletes for the Commonwealth Games, which ended Monday.

"The police did not act because we are conscious all the time of being scrutinized," he said. "The searchlight is focused on us. If we do the slightest thing wrong we are going to be accused. And we know that Anwar has very powerful friends abroad. Leaders of governments. Foreign intellectuals."

Queen Elizabeth II left Wednesday after a four-day visit, and athletes and journalists who came for the Commonwealth Games have departed as well.

Mr. Mahathir has said he expects Mr. Anwar to be charged in court soon for his alleged involvement in homosexual acts, which are illegal in Malaysia.

Mr. Anwar, who vehemently denies the charges against him, is also under investigation for treason, sedition and unlawful assembly. He is being held under the Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite detention without trial.

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