FAC News - Monday, April 14, 2003 12:28 AM

April 14 is a day of infamy: Lim Kit Siang

“April 14 is a day of infamy for Malaysia, for it stood for injustice and oppression the day Anwar Ibrahim was wrongly and unfairly sentenced to long jail terms,” said Lim Kit Siang, the National Chairman of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) at a “Free Anwar” campaign in Taman Melewar on Saturday, 12 April 2003.

“And for which the Reformasi activists, Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor, Tian Chua, Saari Sungib, Lokman Noor Adam, Dr Badrul Amin and Hishamuddin Rais were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for their protests.”

Lim added that although the DAP was no longer in the opposition coalition, Barisan Alternative, they were there that night to give their continued 100% support for the "Free Anwar" and "Free Reformasi activists" campaigns.

Lim said, these were among the issues of justice, freedom, democracy and good governance for which the DAP came together with other opposition parties and NGOs on a common programme of reform for Malaysia more than four years ago.

“In the past 10 days, there were two reports on human rights in Malaysia; the Suhakam Annual Report 2002 tabled in Parliament on 10th April and the United States Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Malaysia 2002 released on 31st March,” said Lim.

“Although I had no time to study the Suhakam Report 2002, as I have just received it, I have been able to establish that there was no single reference to the incarceration of Anwar Ibrahim by Suhakam in contrast to the US Human Rights Report on Malaysia 2002, which continued to maintain that Anwar Ibrahim and the Reformasi activists are ‘political prisoners’.”

Lim went on to say, “The US Report on Human Rights Practices in Malaysia 2002 said ‘the cases against former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and some of his associates raised serious questions about judicial independence and impartiality’.”

“It cited many legal experts, both domestic and international, that Anwar Ibrahim ‘is a political prisoner because he was charged, tried, and convicted in a legal process that was politically motivated and patently unfair’.”

“The report referred to several questionable rulings made by the trial judge at Anwar's first trial on charges of corruption that greatly limited Anwar's ability to defend himself.”

“In failing to make any reference to Anwar's incarceration, which is the most high-profile case of human rights violations in the country, Suhakam failed to come out with a fully comprehensive and authoritative report on the state of human rights in Malaysia last year,” argued Lim.

“We, who are committed to the restoration of freedom for Anwar and the Reformasi activists, must be prepared to face ups and downs, which are part of any struggle for truth, justice and freedom.”

“Although Anwar Ibrahim may no longer be the number one issue in the country, its displacement after September 11 by concerns about terrorism and recently by the Iraq war and SARS cannot make right what is palpably wrong or acceptable what is rank injustice and this is why Malaysians must continue to mobilize for freedom for Anwar and the Reformasi activists.”

“These altered scenarios should be recognized and taken into account so that they are fully and properly factored into the strategy to mobilize Malaysians to continue to give full support to the campaign to free Anwar and the Reformasi activists, and to place the important issues of human rights and democratic reforms as core national concerns and challenges.”