Anwar Jailed After Confessions
PlanetOut,
September 22, 1998
As the protests in his support grow more massive and more violent, and 2 men
"confess" to engaging in sodomy with him, the deposed Malaysian deputy prime
minister is arrested for jeopardizing national security.
What’s generally believed to be a gay-baiting campaign against recently ousted
Malaysian deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was ratcheted up a notch this
weekend, but it was the Internal Security Act which was used to finally arrest him on
September 20, after demonstrations of unprecedented size against prime minister Mahathir
Mohamad. It all occurred while the international press were in Kuala Lumpur for the first
Commonwealth Games to be held in Asia, but Mahathir prevented transmission of photos of
the protests and behaved as if the athletic event was the most significant news of the
day.
On September 19, two of Anwar’s close male associates pleaded guilty to having
been passive sex partners of Anwar and were each sentenced to six months in jail for gross
indecency. Sodomy violations can bring much stiffer penalties, including lashing. One of
the men, Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja, an Indonesian interior decorator who is
Anwar’s adopted brother, faced a complaint by Anwar’s former private secretary
Mohamed Azmin Ali of having engaged in sex with Anwar in April 1998 at his official
residence, and said he had gone along with Anwar in gratitude for his help in obtaining
Malaysian citizenship. In a separate Sessions Court hearing, the other man, Dr. Munawar
Ahmad Aness, a Pakistani with resident status in Malaysia who is Anwar’s friend and
speechwriter, faced a complaint by Chief Inspector Rajakopal of having engaged in sex with
Anwar in March 1993 at Anwar’s home in Bukit Damansara, and said he had gone along
with Anwar in fear of losing his job. The hearings included explicit details, which have
appeared in local media reports. One British reporter described the trial as "an
almost comically rushed and dodgy-looking affair," and Anwar himself marveled that
the hearings and sentencing took place within a single day.
A married father of six who has long had a reputation as a clean-living devout Muslim,
Anwar held a press conference where he proclaimed, "I say categorically that these
are absolutely false charges, without an iota of truth to them. To avoid any doubt
whatsoever, I once again clearly and specifically deny that I have been involved in these
despicable activities." He claimed that the men had been denied access to legal
counsel and to their families, and had been tortured while in custody for more than a
week; he bore them no ill will. Although attorneys appeared in court with the men, they
apparently were not retained by them or their families, and attorneys who showed up to
represent them who apparently had been hired by their families where chased off before the
judges heard the cases.
Although ever since he was deposed September 2 Anwar has been touring the country,
speaking to enthusiastic crowds of thousands of supporters advocating Mahathir’s
resignation and the end his government by cronyism, this was the first occasion on which
he specifically named Mahathir as part of the "conspiracy" to smear him. That
"conspiracy" began with the appearance of a book called "50 Reasons Why
Anwar Cannot Be Prime Minister," which has since been withdrawn from distribution
under court order and whose author is facing a lawsuit by Anwar. Police investigations
into the allegations in that book led to official depositions accusing him not only of
sodomy but of hundreds of instances of adultery and prostitution, accepting bribes, and
even treason and possible connection with murder. Anwar’s firing from both his
cabinet post as finance minister and deputy prime minister and from membership in
Mahathir’s United Malays National Organization (UMNO) party quickly followed.
At this point Anwar and others were expecting that he would arraigned for the sex
charges on September 21, when the Commonwealth Games would be ending. But on September 20,
30 - 50,000 people gathered in Merdeka Square near the National Mosque to hear what turned
out to be Anwar’s last speech before his arrest. One Internet report purportedly from
an eyewitness said that crowd swelled to 100,000 and ultimately to as many as 200,000,
filling all four lanes of the highways for miles as they marched on to the Parliament. En
route, several thousand trashed the headquarters of the UMNO, and at least 5,000 proceeded
several kilometers further towards Mahathir’s official residence, chanting for his
resignation. While the same purported eyewitness account had the army arriving in jeeps
only to join with the marchers in their chanting, there is no question that police massed
and took on the crowd with tear gas and water cannons -- while the visiting Queen of
England was at Sunday services in a nearby church. One report described the situation as
the "largest and most violent demonstrations seen in 30 years."
That night, about 100 police went to Anwar’s home and took him into custody. As it
transpired, they were not charging him for the sex crimes, but for the actions of the
crowds including vandalism, blocking traffic, and threatening national security. Under the
Internal Security Act, it may be two weeks before he appears in a courtroom. Reportedly
dozens of his young supporters have been arrested since. A heavy police presence has been
maintained around the Games and particularly around the Queen, although Anwar had said his
supporters had no desire to trouble her in any way.
Meanwhile, on a lighter note, as Australia dominated the Games in both wins and sheer
numbers, celebrating Aussie male press photographers were reportedly seen dancing with
their South African counterparts "for lack of female company."
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