WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Monday warned
Malaysia must be careful that the high profile prosecution of opposition leader
Anwar Ibrahim does not have a “chilling effect” on democracy.
Hosting a group of young leaders from ASEAN countries at the
White House, Obama was asked about the case of former deputy prime minister
Ibrahim, who was jailed on much-criticized sodomy charges.
“Malaysia has a history of democracy that has to be preserved,”
Obama said.
“It is important that if an opposition leader who is well
known has been charged with a crime, that that process of how that is
adjudicated and how open it is and how clear the evidence is, that is all
subject to scrutiny.”
“What you don’t want is a situation in which the legitimacy
of the process is questioned, that has an adverse impact on democracy as a
whole.”
- Anwar was jailed in February for five years on charges that he sodomized a former male aide, a case he says was fabricated by the government.
- The prison term threatens to permanently end the 68-year-old’s political career.
Obama said everyone should be “making sure that there is not
a chilling effect on potential opposition”
“You have to respect the rights of even those people who you
disagree most with, because otherwise there is no way a democracy can flourish
over the long term.”
Source: - AFP
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