MALAYSIAN LAWMAKER QUITS ANWAR PARTY

Kuala Lumpur: A lawmaker resigned on Wednesday from Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's party.
Mohsin Fadzli is the third to quit in three weeks. He said he was leaving Anwar's People's Justice Party to become an independent lawmaker.

The resignations are a major blow to Anwar as he faces trial on sodomy charges.

• The trial has been a huge distraction, preventing him from addressing festering discontentment and bickering among the party's regional chieftains.
• Mohsin, a Muslim, told reporters he had no problems with Anwar personally but had lost faith in the party leadership because of its stand on a recent controversy over a ban on the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims as a translation for God.
• The long-standing ban, which mainly affected Christians in the remote states of Sabah and Sarawak, was struck down on New Year's Eve by the High Court, angering many Muslims.
• Subsequently, several Christian churches were attacked with firebombs and paint. Some Muslims have been arrested in connection with one attack.
• Anwar's multiethnic opposition party says Christians should be able to use the word Allah. The government, which is dominated by a Malay Muslim party, has appealed the verdict.
• "I cannot remain tolerant and stay silent ... in the name of Allah, I hereby declare my decision to step down" from the party, Mohsin told reporters.
• He said he has not been approached by any other party.
• Tan Tee Beng, a lawmaker from Anwar's home state of Penang, quit the People's Justice Party on Monday because of a feud with local party colleagues.
• Zahrain Hashim, another Penang lawmaker from Anwar's party, resigned three weeks ago.
• The People's Justice Party, in coalition with two other opposition parties, made major strides in national polls two years ago, depriving the ruling National Front of its two-thirds majority in Parliament for the first time in four decades.
• However, the Front, with 137 of the 222 seats in the legislature, is now just 11 seats shy of regaining that majority and the power to change the constitution.
• Jeff Ooi, an opposition lawmaker in Penang, said he believes the National Front will try to lure some opposition legislators to switch sides in coming weeks.
• "It would be a major setback because the government hopes to subvert our stability," Ooi told The Associated Press.
• Anwar's coalition has been weakened by ideological and personality conflicts.
• He is also struggling to maintain the confidence of his allies as he stands trial on accusations of sodomising a male former aide. If found guilty, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
• Anwar claims the government fabricated the charge to crush his political career. The government denies it.

Source: AP