[ Laman Ehwal Semasa ReformIS ]
Date: 13 Sep 1999
Time: 20:55:52
Remote User: -
Amazing Anwar saga loses power to shock
IAN STEWART in Kuala Lumpur
When Anwar Ibrahim learned he was suffering from arsenic poisoning he told his wife that nothing surprised him any more.
Malaysians generally have ceased to be surprised by the bizarre twists and turns of Anwar's two trials and many tribulations.
While people expressed shock that there might be an attempt on his life, they did not react with disbelief.
The sacking and arrest of the second most powerful man in the country was stunning enough, but the events that followed went beyond anything ever seen before in Malaysia.
People stared at their television screens in amazement as Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad gave explicit details of the alleged sexual misconduct of his deputy prime minister and heir apparent, using words they had never heard broadcast before.
They were astonished at the press coverage - again in language once taboo - of the trials on a single day of two men who allegedly were sodomised by Anwar.
The arrest of Anwar by masked police who broke down the front door of his home brought home to Malaysians the draconian nature of the Internal Security Act.
But it was his subsequent appearance in court with a black eye that shook the nation.
The police investigation of his charge that he was beaten in custody went nowhere.
It was not until there was an independent inquiry, forced upon the Government by the sense of public outrage, that Malaysians learned the chief of police had beaten Anwar after he was blindfolded and handcuffed in a cell in police headquarters at Bukit Aman (bukit means hill, and aman means peace, security or safety).
Then there was the first trial on charges involving his alleged effort to prevent a police investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against him. A mattress was hauled into court from an apartment allegedly used by Anwar and various men and women.
Semen stains on the mattress were the subject of analysis by experts for the prosecution and defence. But then the entire testimony concerning sexual activities was deemed irrelevant.
Anwar is now on trial on a charge of sodomy.
The dates of the alleged offence have moved, with prosecution amendments, from 1994 to 1992 and then back to 1993.
The last change came after the defence pointed out that the venue for the alleged offence was not ready for occupation in 1992.