He seeks clearance to re-enter politics : Malaysian high court reviews Anwar's case 
International Herald Tribune
September 8, 2004
Wayne Arnold 

Malaysia's highest court on Tuesday began reviewing the 1998 corruption conviction of Anwar Ibrahim in a move that could clear the way for the former deputy prime minister's return to politics.

"He wants to go back into politics immediately," said Sankara Nair, one of Anwar's attorneys in Kuala Lumpur. "This would clear him."

Anwar was released from prison last Thursday when the Federal Court overturned his conviction on sodomy charges. He had already served his sentence for corruption and was less than a year into his sentence for sodomy when he was released. He left almost immediately for Germany, where on Monday he underwent spinal surgery to correct a back injury he says he received from police during his detention.

The review is part of a last-ditch legal effort by Anwar to clear obstacles to his political comeback. Malaysian law prohibits former convicts from holding or running for political office for five years after they complete their sentences, which would bar Anwar from government until at least 2008.

Having already exhausted all his appeals, Anwar's lawyers asked the Federal Court to review its rejection in 2002 of Anwar's final appeal. On Tuesday, a three-member court panel dismissed objections by prosecutors that it had no jurisdiction and agreed to the review.

Lawyers for both sides will present their cases over the next few days, Nair said. If the panel decides in Anwar's favor, he said, it could either order a fresh appeal hearing or simply overturn Anwar's conviction altogether. If it decides against Anwar, he will have to wait in the wings until 2008.

Anwar and his supporters have long maintained that his arrest and trial were part of a political vendetta by former Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad. Mahathir resigned last October after 22 years in power and has since said he remained convinced of Anwar's guilt.

Mahathir's successor, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, has brought a subtle but profound change to Malaysia's political atmosphere, cracking down on corruption, canceling costly infrastructure projects and rekindling confidence that the country is moving toward greater transparency and accountability. Many see the Federal Court's latest decisions as part of that new atmosphere.

This gives rise to the question of just how Anwar would fit back into a political picture in which Abdullah has replaced him. Abdullah and Anwar were both once rising stars in Mahathir's ruling party, the United Malays National Organization.

Anwar, who is 57 years old, still enjoys widespread popularity in Malaysia, and thousands of supporters bade him farewell when he left over the weekend for Germany. Doctors there said his injury would not inhibit from continuing his political career.

But Abdullah has to some extent assumed the role Anwar once played in the United Malays National Organization as a counterweight to the country's fundamentalist Muslim opposition party, known as PAS. Like Anwar, Abdullah has strong Islamic credentials.

Otherwise, the two men are a study in contrasts: Abdullah is a folksy politician known by the endearing nickname "Pak Lah"; Anwar is a charismatic orator.

"Anwar has the ability to fire up the imagination of his supporters and of Malaysians," said Steven Gan, editor in chief at Malaysiakini.com, a local Web site on Malaysian affairs whose coverage has in the past prompted the government to shut it down.

Since his imprisonment, though, Anwar has served as a mere figurehead to the opposition National Justice Party, known as Keadilan, run by his wife Azizah Ismail. And while outrage over his imprisonment was once a liability to the United Malays National Organization, the issue has lost much of its resonance among voters over time, analysts say.

Keadilan suffered a severe defeat in national elections last March, losing four of its five seats in Parliament, with Azizah barely winning the seat Anwar held before his downfall. Abdullah, on the other hand, led his party to resounding victory, defeating PAS in one of two states it controlled and widening the United Malays National Organization's majority in Parliament.

Copyright © 2006 the International Herald Tribune