A NEW LOW FOR MALAYSIAN POLITICS
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Malaysia’s dirty politics reached a nadir last week when the local media reported on a new video featuring a man who looked like former deputy prime minister and present opposition leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim having sex with a prostitute in a hotel room. Coming at a time when Anwar is battling sodomy charges in court, it makes you wonder just really how low can it go.
The video was shown to a few journalists from the mainstream media who were selected and screened in a fashion worthy of a cloak-and-dagger novel.
- The government-controlled media, which have played a key role in previous campaigns to discredit Anwar, violated every known ethical practice of journalism by providing graphic reports of the alleged “sex sojourn” without verifying the identities of the video’s subjects.
- Typically, the source of the video was not disclosed, evoking the popular Indonesian (and Malay) saying lempar batu sembunyi tangan, which means “throw the rock, hide your hand”. No one took responsibility for screening the video, but the mainstream media played along and reported what their journalists saw.
- Ever willing accomplices, the media broke one of the credos of journalism: Identify your sources, especially when making allegations as serious as this.
The Malaysian media did not bother to identify the man in the video. The mere suggestion that man looked like Anwar Ibrahim was enough to cast doubt on Anwar’s credibility and integrity in the supposedly puritan yet hypocritical society. Truth and verification go out window when you are part of a propaganda machine.- The media placed the onus on Anwar to disprove the claim, something which would likely keep him busy for the next several months or even years, certainly until the next general election.
We have seen this before when Anwar was first sentenced to prison for sodomy, only to have the Supreme Court to overturn his conviction in 2004. Subsequently, new sodomy charges appeared and Anwar has been busy going to and from the courtroom. Sex, media and video conspiracies define Malaysian politics today. It gets dirtier all the time.Source: Jakarta Post (Editorial)
MALAYSIAN PARLIMENT SUSPENDED OPPOSITION LEADER AND 3 OTHERS
Malaysia's ruling coalition has won a parliamentary vote to suspend Anwar Ibrahim, the opposition leader and his three colleagues from parliamentary debates and votes through June, but they can continue other political work, such as addressing rallies. Three of his top allies were also suspended for leaking details about a parliamentary investigation into his remarks.
In an ongoing trial, Anwar is being tried on charges that he sodomised a male former aide in 2008. He faces a 20-year prison sentence if convicted of the accusation, which he says was fabricated as a repeat of a government conspiracy that saw him dismissed as deputy prime minister in 1998 and eventually convicted on charges of graft. The government has denied the conspiracy allegations.
Source: Al Jazeera
Anwar had been accused of abusing "his right and privileges as an MP" after he criticised the government's "One Malaysia" slogan for national unity. The opposition leader said the slogan was inspired by "One Israel", the name used for the political alliance of Ehud Barak, the former Israeli prime minister, ahead of the 1999 Knesset elections.- Anwar and dozens of other opposition legislators stormed out of parliament's lower house during the vote on Thursday, following scenes of pandemonium and shouting. Some opposition members held posters denouncing the lower house as "a kangaroo court", claiming Anwar was unfairly targeted. The suspension was the government's "way of mocking the people's voice, preventing us from defending ourselves," Anwar said after Thursday's vote.
Najib Razak, the Malaysian prime minister, has been trying to reach out to Chinese and Indian minorities under the "One Malaysia" initiative after they deserted the government in the 2008 national polls.- The suspension of the MPs eroded the opposition's representation to less than one-third of the 222-member parliament. That could allow the ruling coalition to make changes to election constituency boundaries before the next national polls.
In an ongoing trial, Anwar is being tried on charges that he sodomised a male former aide in 2008. He faces a 20-year prison sentence if convicted of the accusation, which he says was fabricated as a repeat of a government conspiracy that saw him dismissed as deputy prime minister in 1998 and eventually convicted on charges of graft. The government has denied the conspiracy allegations.
