Malaysia-Turkey relationship tense in Anwar standoff

Malaysia-Turkey relationship tense in Anwar standoff
29 June, 2008

The PKR insisted that fresh sodomy accusations were linked to the fact that Anwar Ibrahim has been in possession of evidence that proves the involvement of the current Police Chief and the Attorney General office in plots against Anwar.

The idea of a standoff with the Malaysian police from within the facades of the Turkish Embassy – though embarrassing for the Malaysian government – is to protect the life of the man seen as the future Prime Minister of Malaysia. The Party Keadilaan Rakyat (PKR) which has 32 seats in the Parliament said it feared for the life of Anwar Ibrahim and had decided that it was best for the popular leader to hole himself in the Turkish embassy for safety reasons.

It is obvious that this creates tension between Turkey and Malaysia but the aim of this tension is surely to get foreign governments involved in what Anwar is now calling a truncated accusation of sodomy against him. The accusation is believed to have come from a ‘mole’ who was working in the office of Anwar Ibrahim. The victim of the present sodomy accusation against Anwar is apparently well known to high officials of the government and of the ruling United Malay National Organization (Umno). Pictures of the mole with members of the government and of the Malay party were splattered on the Malaysia Today website on Sunday.

The PKR said Anwar will be at the Turkish embassy indefinitely which indicates there is an attempt by the opposition leader to force the government and the police altogether to abandon the sodomy case and to let Anwar go freely. It is an attempt to bend the police from aiding anti-Anwar elements in what is seen by many as a new plot to undermine his political career.

According to the Malaysia Insider website, Anwar’s choice of the Turkish Embassy for protection is not surprising. The website says that since his release from jail after the Federal Court overturned his conviction for sodomy in 2004, Anwar has struck a close relationship with Turkish Premier Reccep Erdogan.

It also added that the Opposition politician leaned heavily on strategists from Erdogan's AKP in planning Pakatan Rakyat's successful election campaign. “This assistance (from the Turks) was frowned upon by the government and since then, government officials have been suspicious of Erdogan's motives and of Anwar's link with the AKP,’ wrote the Malaysian Insider.

There seem to be surprise and consternation in the political circles of Malaysia with the fresh accusations of sodomy against Anwar, with many observers saying that the plotters – if it is a plot against Anwar – are losing the plot and that the Malaysians do not believe in such accusations anymore.

A sign of Anwar Ibrahim’s trust in the Islamic lead government in Turkey, a decision that can lead to a standoff between Malaysia and Turkey, is his seeking refuge at the Turkish Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Questions arise on why not the American Embassy instead but the answers are certainly one of mistrust in the Bush administration, says observers.

The current Anwar Ibrahim versus Malaysian police standoff – that is easily misconstrued as Anwar versus Malaysian government – now involves Turkey and it goes beyond the capacity of the Malaysian authorities. It appears Anwar has grown wiser in not attempting any standoff on Malaysian ground since this would mean arrest and a long detention. Anwar being under the Turkish embassy’s protection make it difficult for the Malaysian authorities to engage the opposition leader directly.

In 1998, Anwar Ibrahim decided to face off with the police from his home in Damansara where he was arrested by a team of special police forces armed to the teeth. This lead to his conviction by a judiciary that was tainted with political intervention and it would be unthinkable for Anwar Ibrahim, his family and his supporters to go through such a demoralizing situation again.

Party Islam Se Malaysia (PAS) spiritual chief Nik Aziz Nik Mat said he believed the new accusations will hurt the opposition but he added that he thought it was yet another ploy to undermine Anwar Ibrahim. The PKR is firmly behind the leader while Malaysia’s Prime Minister dissociated his party and his government from the sodomy accusations.

The PM said his party and his government had nothing to do with the accusations and that it would not do anything to undermine or make life impossible for Anwar. However the whole episode is an embarassement for the Malaysian government since Anwar has now showed his total mistrust in the Malaysian police by being at the Turkish Embassy.

Anwar’s wife is expected to make a police report on the ‘evidence’ said to be in Anwar’s possession regarding the involvement of high ranking officials in a plot to undermine Anwar.

Turkish Ambassador summoned

Turkish Ambassador Barlas Ozener will be summoned to Wisma Putra today to explain why PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was allowed to seek refuge in the embassy.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, who disclosed this to The Star, explained that Anwar did not qualify for any sort of international or diplomatic protection as he was being sought for a criminal investigation.

“If he is evading any sort of preventive law like the ISA, then it is a different matter. But he is being sought for an investigation involving sodomy, which is a crime under the Penal Code.

“When you run away from the law, it is not the same as facing some political persecution. As such, the embassy cannot grant him any sort of protection.

“We will ask the ambassador to reconsider (granting Anwar refuge) as it is meddling in Malaysia's internal affairs,” he said, adding that the Government also wanted to know why Anwar had gone to that particular embassy.

Police statement

Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department Director Datuk Bakri Zinin said police, as a law enforcement agency, would investigate the case in a fair manner purely from the legal perspective and not from political angles.

“Police will conduct the investigation thoroughly on the victim and also the suspect but we need a bit of time to investigate the case,” he told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur contingent police headquarters here.

He did not say how long the police would take to probe into the case.

“The question whether Anwar will be summoned to give statement depends on the outcome of the investigation,” he said.

Former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad said the parties and the people should let the government handle the case since it is a new accusation against Anwar. During the electoral campaign in March 2008 Mahathir said, in a video statement addressing a crowd, that Anwar was jailed in 1998 for no apparent reasons. He added that it was a time when he was Prime Minister and he had the power to just grab Anwar and throw him in jail.

The video was widely seen as a confession by Mahathir over the alleged crime his government commited against Anwar Ibrahim who was back then the deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia. Anwar spent 6 years in jail before he was released in 2004.

Malaysia’s Neutralized Nuclear Threat

Malaysia’s Neutralized Nuclear Threat

30 June, 2008

After four years in a Malaysian jail, a Sri Lankan businessman is no longer regarded as a nuclear outlaw. Why?

Asia Sentinel

On May 7, in response to a question in Malaysia’s parliament, Home Affairs Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Sri Lankan businessman Buhary Seyed Abu Tahir remained a threat to Malaysia’s national security because of his alleged part in a ring that helped the Pakistani nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, sell nuclear technology to rogue nations across the world.

Less than a month later, however, Tahir was quietly freed from a high-security detention center where he had been held for four years under Malaysia’s draconian Internal Security Act, which allows for indefinite detention without recourse to habeas corpus. Despite having been identified as a linchpin in an international effort to transfer nuclear weapons technology, Tahir has never been charged with a crime. He has been told he can’t leave the country, and must report to police on a regular basis. Actually, he may not want to leave. Reportedly the US would still like the opportunity to interrogate Tahir.

Tahir made the pages of the world’s press when President George W Bush himself identified him as a major catch in the so-called war on terror in a speech on Feb. 11, 2004. Bush read out the charge sheet on Tahir:

To increase their profits, Khan and his associates used a factory in Malaysia to manufacture key parts for centrifuges [used for enriching uranium for nuclear bombs]. Khan’s deputy a man named B.S.A. Tahir ran SMB computers, a business in Dubai. Tahir used that computer company as a front for the proliferation activities of the A.Q. Khan network. Tahir acted as both the network’s chief financial officer and money launderer. He was also its shipping agent, using his computer firm as cover for the movement of centrifuge parts to various clients. Tahir directed the Malaysia facility to produce these parts based on Pakistani designs, and then ordered the facility to ship the components to Dubai. Tahir also arranged for parts acquired by other European procurement agents to transit through Dubai for shipment to other customers.

“Mr. Tahir is in Malaysia, where authorities are investigating his activities. Malaysian authorities have assured us that the factory the network used is no longer producing centrifuge parts. Other members of the network remain at large… As a result of our penetration of the network, American and British intelligence identified the shipment of advanced centrifuge parts manufactured at the Malaysian facility. We followed the shipment of these parts to Dubai, and watched as they were transferred to the BBC China, a German-owned ship. After the ship passed through the Suez Canal, bound for Libya, it was stopped.”

So why was the 44-year-old Tahir freed? Was his threat overblown or has Malaysia lost interest in continuing to prosecute a politically well-connected figure on behalf of Washington? The answers are hard to find.

“Well, as far as we’re concerned, he really is not a threat,” shrugged a lawyer with links to top officials in the Malaysian government. “Actually, the only reason he was detained for up to four years was because of US pressure. He was just a middleman, we believe. Four years is about the maximum time suspects are held under the ISA.”

American officials in Kuala Lumpur were noncommittal. “The US Embassy understands that Malaysian authorities will monitor Mr.Tahir, a former associate of A.Q. Khan, in order to prevent him from engaging in any proliferation-related activities, and we would refer you to the Malaysian authorities regarding the specific conditions imposed on his release,” said Bettina Malone, the embassy’s information officer.

A businessman who is married to a Malaysian citizen, Tahir was the director of the Dubai-based SMB Group, which was involved in computer and information technology sales. He gained notoriety in Malaysia partly because of his friendship with Kamaluddin Abdullah, the owner of Scomi Precision Engineering and the son of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Through a subsidiary, Scomi manufactured the centrifuge parts cited by President Bush. A police investigation ensued, with the company declaring it had been misled about the purpose and designation of the parts, which allegedly had been ordered by Tahir on behalf of A.Q. Khan.

Tahir is said to have made a detailed confession of his activities within days of his arrest, helping US, British, German and International Atomic Energy Agency officials crack the Khan network. Indeed, according to a 13-page report prepared by Malaysia’s Special Branch, he appears to have sung like a bird, telling police Libya had contacted Khan in 1997 to try to get its hands on the uranium-enrichment centrifuge and describing in detail meetings in Casablanca and Dubai with a Libyan team headed by an official named Mohammad Matuq Mohamad through 2002.

In 2001, Tahir told officials, enriched uranium as well as a number of centrifuge units manufactured by a Dutch company and obtained in Spain and Italy were sent from Pakistan to Libya aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane. He identified British, German, Turkish and Swiss citizens as part of Khan’s ring. He delivered details of Scomi’s activities on what they thought they were manufacturing.

That appears to have been about enough for Libyan strongman Muammar Qadhafi, who in March of 2003 had already contacted British and American officials about giving up a search for nuclear weapons that had begun as long ago as 1970. At the same time, the rewards of dropping the program increased as US and Libyan interests in counterterrorism began to coincide. Libya managed to get on a wait-list for US military assistance (through the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorisn Initiative, no less) and in May 2006 it was dropped from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.

So did Tahir know what he was doing? “I’m sure he did,” said the Kuala Lumpur-based lawyer. “But many items are considered sensitive these days. After all, the US delivered nuclear parts to Taiwan and didn’t even know about it.” (US Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently sacked two top defense department officials after nuclear triggers were mistakenly sent to Taiwan 18 months ago.).

Khan, who remains a national hero in Pakistan for his role in developing the country’s nuclear weapons capability, recently retracted his confession and denied selling nuclear weaponry blueprints to either Iran or North Korea, telling Agence France Press that western countries were to blame.

Sabah, Sarawak demand more

Sabah, Sarawak demand more
30 June, 2008

(The Star) - Sabah's Kadazandusun and Sarawak's Dayak groups said they would forward new proposals to the Federal Government to narrow the economic disparity with peninsular Malaysia.

The new demands were made following a meeting of Kadazandusun leader Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, who is Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Sarawak Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Tan Sri Leo Moggie and Kadazandusun Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Frederick Lojingki during a joint Gawai festival on Saturday.

Among others, they wanted:

> THE Federal Government to review all existing government contracts in Sarawak and Sabah handled by Sarawakian and Sabahan bumiputra contractors with the aim of revising upwards the contract costs;

> A TOTAL revamp of the New Economic Policy (NEP), which had failed to do justice to non-Muslim bumiputras of Sabah and Sarawak;

> CONTRACTORS from Sabah and Sarawak to be given more opportunities to handle federal projects because they are not getting the same chances as their counterparts in the peninsula; and

> THE Federal Government to include one senior leader from Sabah and Sarawak each to be attached to the Economic Planning Unit (EPU).

Dompok said he would forward the proposals to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi soon.

Addressing some 1,000 Dayak and Kadazandusun community leaders here, Dompok said the 1.5 million Dayaks in Sarawak and one million Kadazandusuns in Sabah have found themselves now even further behind following the rise in fuel prices and escalating costs of living.

"There is a unit in the EPU to look into the welfare of the minority bumiputras in Sabah and Sarawak.

"This unit failed to function properly. The welfare of the non-Muslim bumiputras in east Malaysia has not been taken care of because the people in charge of this unit do not know our needs," Dompok said.

Moggie said bumiputra contractors in east Malaysia wanted the existing contracts with the Government to be reviewed and for the Government to pay them more than before.

Lojingki said his chamber wanted the NEP revamped with a fairer policy, saying that the NEP had failed to improve the standard of the Dayaks and Kadazandusuns.

Anwar files suit against Saiful

Monday June 30, 2008 MYT 12:34:19 PM

Anwar files suit against former aide

KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has filed a suit against his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan for allegedly lodging a false, malicious and libellous police report against him.

The suit was filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court civil registry by Anwar’s lawyers R. Sivarasa, Ranjit Singh and William Leong at about 10.30am on Monday.

Saiful had on Saturday lodged a police report alleging that he had been sodomised by Anwar, a former deputy prime minister.

Sivarasa Rasiah, right, lawyer for Anwar Ibrahim talks to reporters at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. Anwar has filed a lawsuit against his male aide who accused him of sodomy. - AP

Anwar is residing at the Turkish Embassy here, saying that he fears for his life after receiving death threats.

Malaysia’s Jungle Train Loses its Trees

Malaysia’s Jungle Train Loses its Trees Jed Yoong

30 June 2008

Historic track still runs but deforestation radically alters the view Just before sunrise, Malaysia’s predawn sky is painted in dreamy hues of purple and pink. A train chugs southwards across paddy fields from Kota Bahru to Gua Musang — stopping at some stations that are no more than a wooden shack and a derelict signboard, occasionally picking up traders with bags of local food and vegetables from the jungle. A 70-year-old woman with a head of curly, shiny white hair in a shirt and batik sarong hauls five bags of homemade tapioca chips onto the train for sale at Kuala Krai, two hours away. At other stations, elderly women in headscarves and robes travel alone, selling their wares. Schoolchildren hop on and off. Young guys in jeans loiter around, flirting with young women in headscarves, quite unperturbed by the threat of khalwat, the Islamic prohibition against close proximity between unmarried persons of the opposite sex. This is Malaysia’s Jungle Train, rumbling 526 km through remote rural towns down the country’s east-coast states of Kelantan, Pahang and Negeri Sembilan. The landscape in Kelantan shifts between paddy fields, water buffaloes, grazing sheep, small banana and sugar cane plantations and giant palm oil and rubber estates. But there is very little left of the jungle. The world's oldest tropical rainforest, which dates back 130 million years, is nearly gone from this northern state bordering Thailand. "When we first logged here, we could find huge trees. The biggest that I've seen is about 90 (inches in diameter). Now we just have some good trees, very few grade A’s and mostly just low quality wood," a logger who has been in the industry for over 30 years told Asia Sentinel on a cleared hilltop in the jungle around Gua Musang, the state's logging capital. Single-track trains depart as early as three in the morning from Tumpat, the end of the line on the east coast, still running on an old token system to prevent collision. Tokens are passed in leather pouches attached to a hoop, with each section assigned a token that is passed back at the end of the section. If a train arrives at a station and the token isn’t there, it can't pass through till the train coming from the opposite direction has arrived with it. It's a pretty foolproof, if antiquated, safety mechanism but trains are usually delayed as they wait for faster express trains to pass through. The coaches feature old, worn seats and toilets that make using the jungle for relief a better option. But the air is fresh and cool in the morning and the scenes of rural life enchanting. People are friendly and curious. They are happy to share bits of history about the train and the state in the local Kelantanese dialect or Malay. Some even speak a smattering of English and combined with do-it-yourself sign language, some level of communication may be possible for outsiders. While forest covers about 60 percent of the state the train passes through, only 20 percent is still virgin rainforest, according to the State Forestry Department's management plan for 2006 to 2015. A department map also suggests that most of the lush forest on the lowlands, with thick canopies and trees that can grow to over 30 meters in height, are gone. Now most of the unlogged permanent forest estates are in the highlands. The rest lie in the National Park, south of the state. It's unlikely that the original rainforest with its diverse and complex eco-system can ever be replaced as trees are harvested after about 30 years, far too early. Over the last five decades, in the name of poverty eradication, the government has aggressively pursued agro-conversion turning forests into palm oil and rubber estates, which cover about 13 percent, or 4.2 million hectares, of the country's total land mass. Oil palms, which are productive in as little as two years, are preferred over rubber, which can only be tapped after about five. Each productive year lost translates into billions of ringgit as the crude palm oil (CPO) price hit an all-time high of RM4, 486 per metric ton in March but is expected to drop to about RM3, 000 in the second half of the year. Perilously, logged primary forest is classified as secondary forest, which allows it to be cleared for agriculture. A report by Lian Pin Koh and David S. Wilcove of Princeton University published this March said that over the 15 years between 1990 and 2005, 55 to 59 percent of oil palm expansion in Malaysia occurred at the expense of forests, based on an analysis of land-cover data compiled by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. “Any future expansion of oil palm agriculture should be restricted to pre-existing cropland or degraded habitats,” they suggested. Environmentalists also charge that conversion may just be a convenient cover for logging as some cleared lands remain uncultivated for many years before being used for other development projects. Others say draining and burning peatland is creating carbon emissions, and toxic chemicals from fertilizers and pesticides are seeping into rivers and other water sources. Ed Matthew of Malaysia’s environmental NGO Friends of the Earth, told The Telegraph last year: “While it is true that palm oil is one of the most productive vegetable oils and that significant carbon savings can be made if the crop is grown sustainably compared to the use of conventional fossil fuel, the reality is that the Malaysian government has plans to convert over 1 million hectares of forest into oil palm plantations. Such forest land conversion, which is likely to include the conversion of peat forests, threatens to create substantial global warming emissions.” Instead of harassing producers, Greenpeace is confronting manufacturers that consume the most palm oil. In April, 60 volunteers, many dressed as orangutans, the endangered great ape species that lives in Borneo's forests, "occupied" and "overran" production lines in a Unilever factory in Port Sunlight near Liverpool while workers entering its headquarters by the Thames River in London were bombarded with jungle noises and the “orangutans,” according to a statement on its website. Last week, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi said Malaysia will stop clearing forest for oil palm cultivation, restricting it to areas designated as agricultural land, which includes logged forest. “We don't have to reduce the protected forests to increase new oil palm plantations. With more effective management of the plantations and new technologies, production can go up by 30 percent,” he told local media. Chin Fah Kui, Plantation, Industries and Commodities minister, added, "There is still land available for agricultural expansion. There is no need for permanent forest reserves to be used for this purpose. The government in any case will not encourage deforestation to obtain more land for agriculture. But land currently designated for agriculture or not utilized for the planting of specific crops, can be converted for the cultivation of oil palm." Meanwhile the Jungle Train, which once hauled tourists and locals alike through one of the world’s most scenic rainforests, now finds less greenery on virtually every trip. Instead it passes through degraded forest and over increasingly silted and polluted rivers. In some areas, the ghost of the glorious rainforest haunts the landscape a lone towering tree with an umbrella-shaped crown. Rivers, once clear and thriving with life, are yellow. The environmental damage caused by decades of siltation and rubbish may cost billions to reverse, if possible at all.

Malaysian oppposition leader accused of sodomy, again

Malaysian oppposition leader accused of sodomy, again

By Thomas Fuller

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of Malaysia's resurgent political opposition, took refuge Sunday in the Turkish Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, saying he feared for his security after an aide accused him of participating in homosexual acts.

The police in Malaysia said they would investigate allegations by Saiful Bahari, a 23-year-old campaign worker, that he was sodomized by Anwar.

The accusation, similar to the one that led to Anwar's dismissal as deputy prime minister and jailing a decade ago, comes at a time of turbulence in Malaysian politics, with Anwar threatening to woo enough defectors from the ruling coalition to form his own government.

Anwar served six years in prison for the 1998 sodomy case but was ultimately acquitted and released.

"Not again," said Anwar, reached by telephone in the Turkish Embassy. "It's a repeat of the same script."

In March, Anwar led opposition parties to their greatest gains in the country's history, winning control of five states, including some of the largest and wealthiest in the country. More recently, Anwar had been preparing to announce plans for a by-election that would allow him to run for Parliament and ultimately be eligible to be prime minister, a post he has long desired. He was barred from running in the March election because of a court order related to the 1998 sodomy case.

Anwar, who is a friend of the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that he planned to stay in the embassy no more than a few days but that he feared his political enemies wanted to do him harm.

"I want a guarantee from the government of my personal safety," Anwar said. "I don't have any intention of seeking political asylum or going overseas."

Azizah Ismail, Anwar's wife, who is a member of Parliament, called the allegation of sodomy "political murder" and at a news conference Sunday in Kuala Lumpur showed a photo of the accuser with top officials of the ruling party.

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the prime minister, denied any involvement in the sodomy allegations.

The governing coalition, Reuters quoted Abdullah as saying, "has no intention of wanting to make life difficult for him or to harass him."

Abdullah's party, the United Malays National Organization, which has been in power since independence from Britain in 1957, is in turmoil following the March electoral losses. Abdullah has been under pressure to resign and has said he will hand over power to his deputy soon.

Ibrahim Suffian, the director of the Merdeka Center, an independent polling organization in Kuala Lumpur, said he believed the allegations would be met with "more cynicism this time."

"From a political communications standpoint I'm not sure all of this is going to help UMNO," he said, referring to the governing party, adding that Anwar may be seen as a victim of political persecution and will garner sympathy among Malay voters, who form the core of the governing party's support.

But if the allegations are proved true, Ibrahim said, it could greatly damage Anwar's standing. "People tolerate homosexuality if it's quiet," Ibrahim said. But Malaysians "have a heightened sense of morality" for the country's leaders.

Sodomy is illegal in Malaysia and punishable by 20 years in jail.

Anwar said he doubted his case would be treated with impartiality because senior officials in the police force and attorney generals' office are "very scared of any change of leadership."

"The system is blatantly and manifestly corrupt," Anwar said.

Malaysia's police chief for criminal investigations, Bakri Zinin, said that Saiful's complaint accused Anwar of sodomizing him in a condominium in a Kuala Lumpur suburb.

Anwar faced no immediate threat of arrest, Bakri said.

"We want to establish the allegation first to see whether there is truth or not," Bakri said, according to The Associated Press. "We will conduct a thorough investigation and be fair to both sides."

1998 All Over Again?

1998 All Over Again?

30 June, 2008

When text messages began circulating late on Saturday evening that an aide of former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim had lodged a police report accusing him of sodomy, Malaysians were stunned.

It brought back memories of 1998, when Anwar faced exactly the same accusations. That sparked an upheaval which changed Malaysia's politics in ways that were impossible to foresee then.

Now, it would appear that Malaysia has come back to exactly the same point; just like a decade ago, Anwar now faces sensational accusations just when his star is rising and seems unstoppable.

Ten years ago, then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad sacked Anwar, his deputy and heir apparent, on the grounds that he had sodomised several of his employees, who had reported the alleged deed.

Today, it is an aide--some say he was no more than a party volunteer--Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 23, who is claiming that the opposition leader had sodomised him, without his consent.

The timing could not be more dramatic.

"In Malaysia, scandal is the most effective method."

Anwar is the central opposition figure in the power struggle that has been playing out on the Malaysian stage since the March8 general election left Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi severely weakened.

The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition is fighting for its survival, and the leadership struggle has witnessed a seemingly unending series of intrigues and plots.

Anwar is a major player in this high-stakes power play.

A master politician, he moulded the disparate opposition into a formidable threat to the once all-powerful BN. He has repeatedly threatened to break the ruling coalition's grip on the federal government by wooing defectors from its ranks.

He has said repeatedly that he has the numbers to take over the government by mid-September. He has yet to show his slate, with some suspecting him of just playing mind games and others insisting he will deliver that fatal blow to the BN soon enough.

Against such a backdrop, it is not surprising that many are speculating that the latest sodomy allegation is a move to take Mr Anwar out of the picture.

A political analyst said this was a crisis waiting to happen.

"In this game, there are no democratic means or channels for the resolution of the leadership question. In such a scenario, you will see violence or character assassination as a way to kill off the opponent," he said.

In Malaysia, scandal is the most effective method.

Indeed, the mud recently hurled at Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor falls into the same category.

As Najib inches closer to the top job, the accusations against him have become more sensational.

Two weeks ago, a blogger lodged a statutory declaration in court claiming that Rosmah was present when a Mongolian woman was blown up.

Najib has denied the claim on behalf of his wife.

The Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu, was the lover of a former associate of Najib, analyst Razak Baginda, who is now on trial for abetting her killing.

"Such mud slinging can be expected to intensify," said the political analyst.

Najib and Anwar are the two leaders deemed to be within the closest sight of the prime minister's job.

Given the perceived rivalry, Najib was immediately dragged into the sodomy saga, despite the lack of any concrete proof.

Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Ismail, sought to establish a link yesterday by showing reporters a photograph of Saiful taken with an aide of Najib in the Deputy Prime Minister's office.

But it was not clear when the photo was taken, and at any rate, it was part of a series of photos of Saiful with other Cabinet ministers.

There was also a claim that Saiful used to work for Najib, but an aide to the Deputy Prime Minister told The Straits Times that this was not true.

While this conspiracy theory sounds attractive at first blush, it has been pointed out by observers that it would have been an incredibly clumsy move for Najib, given that it smacks of a strategy that failed in 1998.

The police investigation will take time and how the BN government conducts itself in the case will be watched.

If Anwar is seen as, yet again, a victim of Machiavellian politics, it will work to the advantage of the opposition.

The March 8 general election gave a hint of this. Surveys showed that soon after Anwar was attacked in the media during campaigning, voters started to abandon the BN.

However, it is unlikely that there will be an exact repeat of 1998, even though there is a strong sense of deja vu over Saiful's sodomy accusation.

The key players this time are different. Unlike Mahathir, Abdullah reportedly does not have a strong grip over key institutions such as the judiciary and the police.

But whether that will spell fewer or more problems for Anwar is unclear right now. (By CAROLYN HONG/ The Straits Times/ ANN)

Transit girls for lorry drivers?

M'sian lorry drivers hire social escorts for company on long hauls
30 June, 2008

MALAYSIAN lorry drivers now employ 'social escorts' to keep them company, according to Kosmo!.

The girls, known as transit girls, would get paid between RM300 (S$125.4) and RM500 for a return trip from Kemaman in Terengganu to any destination outside the east coast.

The payment was based on the distance of the journey and 'services' provided to the lorry drivers.

Apart from cash, the 'transit girls', who are in their early 20s, also asked for meals throughout the journey and for their mobile phone credit to be topped up by RM50.

The girls said they would rather spend nights in the cabin of the lorry than in a hotel or inn for fear of being caught.

A girl, identified as Nurul, said the RM500 payment was justified as they would spend three days and two nights on trips with the drivers.

'We have to do all sorts of things such as accompanying them during meals and chatting with them throughout the journey,' she said.