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KUALA LUMPUR: Thousands gathered at a stadium here Sunday for a mass
anti-inflation rally which Malaysian opposition figurehead Anwar
Ibrahim was due to address amid deepening political turmoil.
Anwar is fighting back new accusations of
sodomy—the same charge that saw him jailed a decade ago. The
marathon event will run until midnight.
The protest is going ahead at an alternative
venue after the original plans were slapped with a police ban, and
despite fears authorities may use force to break up the gathering.
“Our aim is not to cause trouble but to get
the message to the government that fuel prices must come down and we
will not stop our protests until this happens,” said organizer
Hatta Ramli from the Islamic opposition party PAS.
“The protests will only get worse until the
government listens to the voice of the people to ease their burden
and suffering.”
By noon up to 6,000 people had gathered at the
suburban stadium, which was ablaze with red T-shirts, the color of
the protest movement, with many sporting bandanas with the caption
“No Price Hike.”
There was a festive air, and outside the stadium
traders sold everything from drinks to Islamic religious tracts.
“We want prices lowered, we are suffering but
the government appears to be doing nothing,” said housewife Aminah
Rahman, 48, who along with her two young daughters was dressed in
red T-shirts and scarves.
“If this continues, the people will have no
trust left in the PM, he must go now,” she said.
Last month’s 41-percent fuel price hike has
heaped pressure on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whose
government is reeling from March general elections that produced the
worst showing in its half-century history.
Anwar has said he is poised to seize power with
the help of government defectors, after his opposition alliance
claimed one-third of parliamentary seats and five states in the
elections.
He is now embroiled in a political battle with
deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak—Abdullah’s heir
apparent—trading serious allegations that have deepened
Malaysia’s political crisis.
A week ago an aide to Anwar filed a police
report claiming that the 60-year-old opposition leader had sodomized
him, causing Anwar to flee to the Turkish Embassy saying he feared
for his life.
The claims threatened his stunning political
comeback, staged after he was sacked as deputy premier in 1998 and
jailed on sodomy and corruption charges he said were orchestrated by
the government.
In the next sensational turn of events, a
private investigator then made allegations linking Najib to the 2006
slaying of a Mongolian woman. A close friend of Najib is on trial
for abetting the murder.
At a press conference organized by Anwar,
Balasubramaniam Perumal released a sworn statement saying he had
given police detailed information about 28-year-old Altantuya
Shaariibuu which was never raised during the trial.
However, a day later, he retracted the claims,
saying he made them under duress.
His nephew on Saturday filed a missing
person’s report, saying he and his family had disappeared.
Criminal Investigation Department Director Bakri
Zinin said Malaysian police had enlisted the help of Interpol and
authorities in neighboring countries to help locate the
investigator.
“We suspect he is either in hiding or someone
is hiding him,” he told a press conference Sunday.
“I give a guarantee of his safety if he comes
to meet us, and he is free to bring a lawyer to the meeting.”
-- AFP
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