[ Laman Ehwal Semasa ReformIS ]
Date: 09 Sep 1999
Time: 07:34:00
Remote User: -
Malaysians Protest Anwar Jailing
AP Photo
By RANJAN ROY Associated Press Writer
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Supporters of jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim marched on a downtown Kuala Lumpur street Saturday to mark the first anniversary of the popular leader's dismissal.
It was the first demonstration since Anwar was sentenced to six years imprisonment for corruption by the High Court in April.
The 52-year-leader, fired by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad Sept. 2 of last year, is now being tried for sodomy and could be sentenced to up to 20 more years if convicted. Anwar has denied all the charges, saying it is part of a political conspiracy to end his challenge to Mahathir's 18-year rule.
Police did not immediately try to disperse the protesters, who carried cloth banners demanding political reform and waved Anwar's portrait.
Riot police were deployed earlier Saturday in central Kuala Lumpur in anticipation of the protest. Policemen carrying batons and shields waited in trucks around Independence Square near the courthouse where Anwar's sodomy trial is being conducted.
The protesters had planned to march to Independence Square later in the evening, but decided against it without giving any reason.
While Saturday's protest shows that Anwar remains an important political figure even one year after Mahathir tried to banish him from the political scene, the small number of protesters also showed that the anger felt by many Malaysians after his Sept. 20 arrest has ebbed.
``This is a small start for the protest for democracy. The battle is long,'' said Hishamuddin Rais, a protest leader who headed Saturday's demonstration