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High Profile Mercy Plea For Anwar Ibrahim
WASHINGTON, April 30 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Malaysians, on Monday, anxiously awaited a decision from Anwar Ibrahim, the jailed former deputy prime minister, concerning his spinal problems amidst an ultimatum for him to chose between operations in Malaysia or his jail cell.
In the meantime, a group of 107 high-profile individuals Monday sent an appeal to Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, urging his government to show mercy to Anwar Ibrahim.
The message said the group humbly appealed to his government's goodwill to display compassion towards a citizen "who had previously contributed his services to the country."
"We humbly appeal that Anwar be given the possibility of being afforded the medical treatment of his choice," the appellants said.
The Malaysian government on Friday made it clear that it would not tolerate Anwar Ibrahim remaining in hospital for any long period of time and issued an ultimatum, ending Tuesday, forcing Anwar Ibrahim to choose between local surgeons or his jail cell.
The appeal made by Malaysians seems to be made completely free of political motivation, based purely on humanitarian grounds. One National Front assemblyman, Fauzi Abdul Rahman, recently in the limelight for allegations against Minister Khalil Yaakob, is among the signatories of the appeal.
The signatories include medical specialists, senior lawyers, artists, academicians, filmmakers, writers, actors and professionals from various fields.
The appeal also requested that Anwar be allowed to have surgical treatments overseas. The group said it believes Anwar will be "tightly guarded" by prison guards and accompanying Malaysian diplomats who will return him to Malaysia after his recovery.
"This is the right step and a suitable guarantee. It is our understanding that a prisoner should not be precluded from the specialist treatment of his choice," said the appeal.
Anwar is serving a 15-year jail term for abuse of power and sodomy. He is considered a political prisoner by Amnesty International and by several observers in Malaysia.
He has been in Kuala Lumpur Hospital (KLH) since November 25th with acute back pain due to a slipped disc.
Dutch specialist Thomas Hoogland, who examined Anwar at his family's request on March 11th, said in a report the politician needed endoscopic spinal surgery within four to six weeks, which would be best performed in Munich, Germany.
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