|
Thursday, 22-Jan-2004 10:13 AM Anwar issue to get new life ahead of election Opposition to revisit his jailing as polls show public cares By Brendan Pereira Anwar Ibrahim suffered a setback in court yesterday and, short of a royal pardon, looks destined to spend the next five years behind bars. But expect much more to be heard about the former deputy prime minister in the days and weeks ahead. Parti Keadilan Nasional and other opposition parties are bent on revisiting the issue of his sacking and jailing. They believe the issue, which coalesced a divergent opposition and turned perennial also-rans into serious election contenders five years ago, is still a potent elixir. This belief is boosted by the findings of an independent survey showing that the Malay ground still holds him in high regard. The opposition parties expect the sympathy level to rise after the Court of Appeal ruled against his bail application yesterday. He has served four years in jail on corruption charges and sought bail while awaiting the outcome of an appeal against his conviction for sodomy, for which he was jailed for nine years. For Parti Keadilan, the attempt to resurrect the Anwar issue may be as important for its political survival as it is for the man in the Sungai Buloh jail. A poor electoral performance by its candidates would surely confine the party to the sidelines of Malaysian politics. For Anwar, a strong mandate for Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his reform platform may lead to longer-term consequences: it will dilute his platform as the agent of change in Malaysia. For the next three weeks, Keadilan party members will organise a series of talks, launch a leaflet campaign and get convoys of vehicles to run through several states. At the same time, non-governmental organisations will step up their campaigns to pressure the government to allow Anwar to receive treatment overseas for his back problem. Mr Khalid Jaafar, a senior official with Parti Keadilan, said: 'We feel it is time that the issue of Anwar is brought to the fore again.' Anecdotal evidence, quiet signs of support from the electorate and survey findings are driving the party down the tried-and-tested road, he said. Critics argue that a political party that was born out of the political crisis following Anwar's sacking in 1998 can only find hope from that one source that gave it life. Other Keadilan leaders like Tian Chua are unapologetic. 'Anwar is still a very strong election issue. We also want to test Abdullah Badawi's credibility. 'There is talk that he is distancing himself from Dr Mahathir. If that is true, then he should handle the Anwar case differently. After all the Anwar case involves questions of the judiciary and the police.' The move to assign the 'sins' of the Mahathir government to the Abdullah administration is an approach which will be employed by all the opposition parties, especially Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), in the run-up to the general election. Even PAS seems to be coming around to the view that it may be worth mining the Anwar issue again. A party official told The Straits Times: 'It will not be the main focus like in 1999 but will be one of the issues we will bring up.' A poll of party members shows the former DPM is still in their thoughts. A third of the respondents say Umno's efforts at boosting Malay unity will be credible only if Anwar is freed. Interestingly, only a fraction of the respondents were concerned about Internal Security Act detainees. It is understood that PAS Youth leader Salahuddin Ayob has left for London to get human rights organisations to start making a din about the former DPM. The United Malays National Organisation (Umno) and the Abdullah administration are not losing any sleep over the opposition's moves. They believe that there are built-in flaws in the plan: It presupposes that sympathy for Anwar will translate into a gush of votes, like it did in the 1999 general election. It presupposes that Umno is still fractured. And it presupposes that the anger that voters felt towards Dr Mahathir will automatically attach itself to his successor. An Umno official told The Straits Times: 'The PM has shown that he has different ideas than Dr Mahathir and will continue to do so. 'He has also made it clear that he is not interested in meeting several Keadilan leaders who have sent feelers about wanting to return to Umno. 'That should tell you his level of confidence. We believe that the majority of Malaysians have moved on.' The opposition, though, believes that its future lies in yesterday's formula.
|
