Global News Journal
Beyond the World news headlines
Back to the future in Malaysia with Anwar sodomy trial II
By Barani Krishnan
A decade ago, Malaysia’s former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim was on trial for sodomy and corruption in a trial that exposed the seamy side of Malaysian justice and the anxieties of a young country grappling with a crushing financial crisis and civil unrest.
Anwar is Malaysia’s best known political figure, courted in the U.S. and Europe and probably the only man who can topple the government that has led this Southeast Asian country for the past 51 years.
Anwar vowed in a recent interview to fight what he says are trumped up charges.
The 14 months I spent covering the 1998 trials saw Anwar accused of sodomy with three men and having sex with a woman over a period of years. This case is simpler, there is just one accuser. All homosexual acts are illegal in this mainly Muslim country and sex outside marriage is illegal for Muslims.
The first trial was gruelling. Lines began as early as four in the morning as people tried to get into the court that could seat less than 200. Most of the spectators were ordinary people, but there was a sprinkling of dignitaries and businessmen who had known Anwar when he was in office.
There was a separate media queue and again a fight to get in line as dozens of reporters from local and international outlets jockeyed for space. Ringing the court were hundreds of riot police, backed by watercannon, waiting for trouble in a country where there were daily protests at the time, often involving tens of thousands of people.
Berlusconi, as he is
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is the consummate campaigner. No matter where he finds himself, the indefatigable 72-year-old always makes sure the cameras are squarely on him.
Although he is quick to flash a smile to his supporters, Berlusconi can be just as fast in delivering barbed words to his critics. And when he does not have the time to do it, his supporters are more than happy to oblige.
The newspaper Il Libero, for instance, uses its front page to wage war against his adversaries, old and new.
When his wife called for a divorce after criticising his party for considering former actresses and TV showgirls to run in the European elections, it lashed out. It published old photos of her baring her breasts on a theatrical stage and ran a headline telling her that she was of the same ilk.
Il Libero also uses inserts to great effect. Last week, it started publishing a serial recounting the life of Berlusconi.
Reminiscent of the booklet about his life that Berlusconi sent to voters’ homes ahead of the 2006 election, the serial highlights in glowing terms his transformation from cruise ship crooner to real estate mogul to media magnate to prime minister.
Once popular Greek PM struggling to reconnect
Once the most popular politician in Greece, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has seen his ratings decline, hit by a wave of scandals, party rebels and the world economic crisis.
As little as a year ago, he managed to turn his political fortunes around, winning elections after deadly forest fires, a feat admired by friends and foes alike.
His razor thin majority forebode political trouble ahead. But since September he has suffered several major blows – losing two ministers suspected of wrongful dealings, having to sack rebel deputies and dealing with a flurry of protests over his handling of the economy.
“Lately, Mr Karamanlis appears to be losing power and takes no initiative to act. The political hegemony he has enjoyed since 2004, is now directly challenged,” wrote commentator Antonis Karakousis in the major Athens daily Ta Nea. ”The government appears to be at the mercy of events.”
Foreign diplomats in Athens say Karamanlis must act quickly to end feuds among his top ministers and take charge of his party before more damage is done. “I have seen him do none of that,” one European ambassador said.
Karamanlis’s style of the serious, somewhat laconic and removed leader has served him well so far but may not be what’s needed when his voters are facing a harsh economic reality and the socialist opposition is for the first time in years ahead in opinion polls, political analysts say.
All these political games could harm the image of Malaysia- one of the rare stable Muslim countries in the eyes of world community… However, if Mahathir Mohamad considered that Anwar should quit the “game” and the same is considered by Najib- then he must. No matter if he is gay or not. The main thing is to protect Malaysia.