TV PAKATAN RAKYAT

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 - Dr Munawar Anees declared today that he will pursue the overturning of his sodomy conviction to the bitter end. Munawar, who was a speechwriter for de facto PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when he was Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) and then convicted of sodomy in 1998.

He told reporters at the PKR headquarters here that his legal team are now in the process of filing an application in the Court of Appeals to set aside its own ruling from Oct 30, 2007 dismissing his appeal for his conviction to be reviewed in the High Court. “I am advised to apply to the Court of Appeals to set right the injustice perpetrated against me for over a decade,” he said.

On Oct 30 this year, the Federal Court dismissed his appeal against his earlier sodomy conviction. In his first case after his controversial appointment as head of the Malaysian judiciary, Chief Justice Tan Sri Zaki Azmi, who presided over a three-judge panel, offered no clarification as to the grounds for the dismissal.

Munawar said, however, that he will not stop until he has been exonerated of what he claims to be a fabricated charge. “You can say it is an emotional statement, but my will to my children stipulates that if this issue is not resolved after I am gone, they will continue to fight for justice.” A decade ago, Munawar was convicted, based on a signed confession, of sodomy with Anwar Ibrahim. However, in a statutory declaration issued 10 years ago, Munawar claimed that he had been forced to confess following brutal torture while he was in detention.

On 9 November 2008, while covering the Bersih candlelight vigil Malaysiakini.tv's camera-person Shukri Mohamad was detained by the police. Although released 7 hours later, they however retained the camera and the video tape.

It was not until 18 November before the police released it.

Here are some scenes caught on tape through the lens of our camera.

About 12,000 people in Sarawak, including 6,000 supporters of Ngemah state rep Gabriel Adit, have applied to join PKR.

Their application forms were submitted to PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim at a huge dinner gathering in Sibu tonight which saw more than 4,000 people in attendance.

Also signing up with the opposition party is controversial former PRS Balleh division publicity chief, Beginda Minda.

He was forced to leave the state BN component party following his call on the chief minister and his deputy to step down.

Adit, 58, claimed that he had submitted the application forms for PKR membership from 6,000 of his supporters tonight.

The other 6,000 new applications were believed to be from former PRS members and non-party members.

In his speech, Adit, a four-term assemblyperson, told the crowd that the main reason for joining PKR was due to the “political castration” of the Dayaks under the BN state government.

He added that PKR was the best vehicle to address the plight of the Dayaks. Adit also declared that Anwar was the most suitable and acceptable leader to become prime minister.

“Enough is enough of BN. Now change is coming to Sarawak,” he said, adding that there are many BN members waiting to join PKR.

With Adit’s entry, PKR now has two seats in the Sarawak state assembly. The other is Dominique Ng representing Padungan.

Adit first won the Ngemeh seat on the now-defunct Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak ticket in 1991 but in the 2006 state elections, he stood as an independent.

His entry is seen as a major boost for PKR which is gearing up for the next state polls, due in 30 months.

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The Malaysian government is one of the first foreign regimes to have quickly congratulated Barack Husein Obama on his massive victory in the Presidential polls but their message to the newly elected President of the United States is not what the Malaysians think it is. Having acted tough against the George W. Bush administration in its comments on the Anwar ibrahim sodomy case this year, the Malaysian government expects a non-interference policy from the Obama administration in its local affairs.

Malaysia has a leftist thinking Minister of Foreign affairs who made his mark as a tough opposition member during the days of the Semangat 46 (S-46) party. Minister Rais Yatim is respected in the local political circles for his consistency in his criticism against American interference in other nations affairs. Supported by a solid group of civil servants oriented towards the protection of the nation's integrity – territorial and moral – the Minister will not have any difficulty to pinpoint to the Obama administration that any interference in the Malaysian affairs will only worsen Malaysian-US relations.

Anwar Ibrahim is well supported by the Democratic Party where he has top officials of the party on his side. They include former Vice President Al-Gore and several influential members of the American foreign diplomatic circles not forgetting the Clintons and the close circle of Barack Obama. It will not be difficult for Anwar Ibrahim to weave good and solid ties with Obama in the future. The Democratic Party has close ties with the Party Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) while its support for the Party Keadilaan Rakyat (PKR) is undoubted.

President Obama himself is known to be interested in the ideals of leaders like Anwar Ibrahim and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in that they want to be the bridge between the west and the Muslim world. Anwar Ibrahim is also member of an international foundation where both Republicans and Democrats from the US political spectrum are involved. His popularity among the current US administration is well known too and this is what has brought the recent 'freeze' between Malaysian and the US after the outbreak of the sodomy case in which Anwar was defended by the US State Department.

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Malaysia's central bank pledged it will take action to prevent the economy from deteriorating after keeping the benchmark interest rate unchanged for the 20th straight meeting.

``In the face of diminishing inflationary pressures, and in the event of heightened downside risks to growth, the bank will take swift monetary policy action to provide support to the economy,'' Bank Negara Malaysia said yesterday, after maintaining the overnight policy rate at 3.5 percent.

The decision contrasts with cuts by central banks in China, India and Australia, which have lowered borrowing costs in recent weeks to spur growth amid a looming global recession. Malaysia's inflation has started to ease from a 26-year high and that may give the central bank room to reduce interest rates should the economy slump.

``Bank Negara will look to ease policy, possibly as soon as the next meeting, especially if the growth risks become clearer and inflation risks diminish,'' said Mark Tan, an economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in Hong Kong. ``The main factor that will influence future rate decisions would be how fast they expect the growth outlook to unravel.''

Earlier this year, the central bank had held off from raising rates to cool inflation as challenges to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's leadership threatened to hurt consumer confidence and economic growth. Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, who had said he wanted to topple the government by September, said this week that goal is now harder to achieve.

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Anwar's comeback has been remarkable. The former deputy PM who was beaten in police custody, jailed for corruption and sodomy and currently faces fresh sodomy charges, recently won an important by-election in a landslide.

Yet Anwar's march to power still faces major problems. Next week, his sodomy trial date will be announced. However as Davis reports, the country is reeling from the leaking of a doctor's report that says there's no evidence that Anwar sodomised his assistant, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

The explicit and confronting notes from the doctor's medical examination of Azlan were published on the internet by a well-known Malaysian dissident. The government has since closed his website down, raided his home, confiscated his computers and charged him with sedition.

As for the doctor, he's fled to Burma in fear of his life. A second doctor - this one from a government hospital - backs up the aide's claim that was sodomised.

Mark Davis speaks to Anwar Ibrahim to get his take on these latest twists and turns, and Davis also reveals the lengths to which Anwar has gone to shore up support for him and his party.

Is Anwar Ibrahim going to shake things up and change the face of Malaysian politics forever?

MEMORI Susur jalur perjuangan DSAI... REFORMASI REFORMASI REFORMASI....

Temuramah oleh Naib Angkatan Muda KeADILan.