 |
Anwar has vowed to unite the divided opposition against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad.
|
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's ex-deputy prime minister and de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was barred Friday, May 25, from running for president of the opposition party he advises, a move seen as designed to thwart his political comeback.
"Anwar Ibrahim ... received a notice from the Registrar of Societies (ROS) this afternoon, rejecting his application to contest," Tian Chua, the information chief of the People's Justice Party (Parti Keadilan Rakyat), was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Anwar was expected to win an election on Saturday, May 26, to lead Keadilan despite being barred from standing for public office until April 2008 over a corruption conviction.
He had applied to the ROS, which governs political parties, to sidestep the ban, but his application was rejected.
"Anwar has since filed an appeal to the home minister," said Tian, adding the minister had the right to grant a waiver.
Anwar, who was the heir-apparent to former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, was jailed on alleged sodomy and corruption charges in 1998.
Keadilan was formed as part of the movement protesting his arrest.
The sodomy conviction has since been overturned but the corruption verdict stands, barring Anwar from standing for public office until April 2008.
Malaysian law bans criminals from holding public office for five years after their release from jail.
Anwar remained in jail until acquitted of sodomy in 2004. He long maintained his innocent, arguing the charges were politically motivated.
Ploy
The ROS's decision has drawn flak as a bid to thwart Anwar's political comeback.
"Keadilan strongly condemns ... the move by ROS as a deliberate ploy to prevent the re-emergence of Anwar Ibrahim into active political leadership," said Tian.
"He (Anwar) has expressed his intention to go ahead with the elections tomorrow," he said.
Keadilan has been looking to Anwar's star power to raise its profile ahead of an expected early general election.
General elections must be held by early 2009.
But Anwar predicted the vote could be held as early as August -- thus preventing him from standing.
Earlier, the former deputy premier said he could still be effective in the party, now headed by his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, even if barred by the ROS.
"I can still work closely to bolster the party with Wan Azizah," he told AFP in an interview.
Anwar has been acting as an adviser to the party and led its campaign in a key state by-election last month, although it ended in defeat.
He has vowed to unite the Malaysian divided opposition against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad.
"If elections are held now, I am quite confident we can deny them (ruling National Front (Barisan Nasional) a two-third majority," he said.
Anwar said he would coordinate the attack through Keadilan, the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP) and the Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS).
They had previously worked together, but in 2001 DAP fell out with PAS over the latter's goal of forming an Islamic state.
"I am coordinating the opposition and I will initiate negotiations with DAP and PAS," Anwar said.
Anwar proposed that Keadilan, DAP and PAS would put up just one candidate against the National Front in each constituency.
Abdullah's United Malays National Organization (UMNO) is the dominant group in the National Front of 14 parties.
Barisan governments, which have ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957, have traditionally won elections by a large majority.
Malays, mostly Muslims, make up nearly 60 percent of the population in Malaysia.
Ethnic Chinese and Indians - most of them Buddhists, Hindus and Christians - make up about 35 percent. The rest are indigenous people and Eurasians.
|
