Don't snub Anwar: daughter's plea to Rudd

Don't snub Anwar: daughter's plea to Rudd
10 July, 2008

(The Age) - THE daughter of besieged Malaysian opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim has urged Kevin Rudd to meet her father, describing the Australian Prime Minister's decision to ignore Mr Anwar as a "lost opportunity".

Mr Rudd is in Kuala Lumpur today amid a tense local political stand-off over fresh sodomy allegations against Mr Anwar and counter-claims of a bizarre murder conspiracy involving a political rival.

Nurul Izzah Anwar said she was surprised by Mr Rudd's decision not to meet Mr Anwar, saying it would help during a troubling time for Malaysia.

"I think it would be useful for Mr Rudd to reconsider, because at the end of the day, it's for Australia to objectively look at this country and meet with the different political players," she said.

Mr Anwar was forced to seek refuge with the Turkish embassy in Kuala Lumpur last month after his driver accused him of sodomy, prompting fears of a repeat of 1998 charges that led to him being jailed.

Speaking on SBS television last night, Mr Anwar criticised Mr Rudd for taking a soft line on human rights in Malaysia.

Ms Nurul Izzah is a 27-year-old rising star in Malaysia's opposition movement, having unseated a cabinet minister to win a spot in parliament during elections in March that saw the ruling party lose its two-thirds majority for the first time.

She said the treatment of her father was a symbol of what has gone wrong in the country, with official institutions used to destroy a political opponent.

"Ten years onwards, nothing seems to have been changed. When clear concerns have been bought up in terms of the judiciary … how do you expect any investigation to proceed in a fair and transparent manner," she told The Age.

Ms Nurul Izzah called on Australia to engage more in helping bolster Malaysia's flagging political and legal institutions.

Mr Rudd must also navigate further sensational allegations against Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Razak, of an affair with a Mongolian woman who was subsequently shot and her body blown up with explosives in a forest outside Kuala Lumpur in 2006.

University of Melbourne professor Michael Leigh, a South-East Asia observer, said there was growing cynicism among Malaysians "about the personalities who are very busily working away at undercutting one another."

Mr Anwar, who was barred from running in the March elections but is now eligible for office, has set mid-September as a date to gain a majority in parliament.

Malaysia's political turmoil has been worsened by rising global fuel costs, forcing the Government to slash official petrol subsidies. Several thousand people turned out for a rally this week to protest against rising prices.

Ms Nurul Izzah said she feared her father would not receive a fair hearing in the tense political climate.

"The results of the elections clearly show what people wanted is change. I see this move by the Government, by different parties, as a clear way to derail that process."

Mr Rudd arrived in Kuala Lumpur last night, and will meet Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi today, along with other Malaysian leaders.