Reuters - Wednesday, July 8
By Razak Ahmad and Niluksi Koswanage
KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 - Just a handful of people turned out to cheer Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim at his latest court appearance as new a poll said government reforms were popular, which may show Anwar's influence is waning.
Anwar denounced the trial that had been due to start on Wednesday as a "despicable and desperate" move by the government to remove him from politics after the judge said he would delay it and hear applications from lawyers on July 15.
On an overcast day in the Malaysian capital, around a hundred black-clad opposition supporters shouting "Allah" and "reformasi" , pushed into the court complex but there were no clashes with police, who heavily outnumbered them.
That was far fewer than the thousands who thronged court appearances in 1998 at the height of the Asian financial crisis after Anwar was dismissed as deputy prime minister and charged with sodomy and corruption in a case lasting 14 months.
"It is not as tension-filled as before. It is almost as if people are used to seeing this situation and frankly, I am tired of this case," said Mohd Amir Hamza, a shopkeeper who watched the arrival of Anwar and photographed him with his mobile phone.
The judge said on Wednesday that he would hear applications for dismissal of the case, discovery of evidence by the defence and to set a new date for the trial on July 15 after Anwar's lawyers said they needed more time to prepare.
Anwar, 61, wearing a grey coat and fawn shirt and accompanied by his wife, told reporters after the hearing that the government was again persecuting him in a bid to maintain its 51-year grip on power in this Southeast Asian country of 27 million people.
"UMNO political leaders will resort to a repeat of this same game after seeing all their cards ... are not enough to contain the tide of people wanting change," he said.
If found guilty in the court where a judge sits alone, Anwar could face 20 years in jail, effectively ending his career.
The National Front government, led by the United Malays National Organisation , stumbled to its worst election losses in 2008, losing its two-thirds parliamentary majority and seeing five of 13 states fall to the opposition, a record haul.
Since then the National Front has lost a series of state and parliamentary by-elections forcing the government to switch prime ministers, appointing Najib Razak, the son of Malaysia's second post-independence leader, to head the government in April.
POPULAR REFORMS FROM NEW PM
In his first 100 days in office, Najib has announced an ambitious set of reforms, aimed at boosting foreign investment in this export-dependent country whose economy is expected by the government to contract up to five percent this year.
Last week he unveiled a series of measures to open up the economy, risking the ire of the majority Malay population who saw some of their economic privileges removed. [ID:nKLR467124]
But a poll published on Wednesday showed Najib appeared to have gained traction for the government and that his reforms had won widespread approval. [ID:nSP434636]
Najib's personal popularity rating surged to 65 percent from 42 percent in mid-May, according to a poll from the independent Merdeka Center, and 60 percent of the 1,062 people questioned approved of the reforms.
"Quite clearly, a growing number of Malaysians like some of the policy initiatives of the PM and his inclusive message," said Ibrahim Suffian, head of the polling body.
By Razak Ahmad and Niluksi Koswanage
KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 - Just a handful of people turned out to cheer Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim at his latest court appearance as new a poll said government reforms were popular, which may show Anwar's influence is waning.
Anwar denounced the trial that had been due to start on Wednesday as a "despicable and desperate" move by the government to remove him from politics after the judge said he would delay it and hear applications from lawyers on July 15.
On an overcast day in the Malaysian capital, around a hundred black-clad opposition supporters shouting "Allah" and "reformasi" , pushed into the court complex but there were no clashes with police, who heavily outnumbered them.
That was far fewer than the thousands who thronged court appearances in 1998 at the height of the Asian financial crisis after Anwar was dismissed as deputy prime minister and charged with sodomy and corruption in a case lasting 14 months.
"It is not as tension-filled as before. It is almost as if people are used to seeing this situation and frankly, I am tired of this case," said Mohd Amir Hamza, a shopkeeper who watched the arrival of Anwar and photographed him with his mobile phone.
The judge said on Wednesday that he would hear applications for dismissal of the case, discovery of evidence by the defence and to set a new date for the trial on July 15 after Anwar's lawyers said they needed more time to prepare.
Anwar, 61, wearing a grey coat and fawn shirt and accompanied by his wife, told reporters after the hearing that the government was again persecuting him in a bid to maintain its 51-year grip on power in this Southeast Asian country of 27 million people.
"UMNO political leaders will resort to a repeat of this same game after seeing all their cards ... are not enough to contain the tide of people wanting change," he said.
If found guilty in the court where a judge sits alone, Anwar could face 20 years in jail, effectively ending his career.
The National Front government, led by the United Malays National Organisation , stumbled to its worst election losses in 2008, losing its two-thirds parliamentary majority and seeing five of 13 states fall to the opposition, a record haul.
Since then the National Front has lost a series of state and parliamentary by-elections forcing the government to switch prime ministers, appointing Najib Razak, the son of Malaysia's second post-independence leader, to head the government in April.
POPULAR REFORMS FROM NEW PM
In his first 100 days in office, Najib has announced an ambitious set of reforms, aimed at boosting foreign investment in this export-dependent country whose economy is expected by the government to contract up to five percent this year.
Last week he unveiled a series of measures to open up the economy, risking the ire of the majority Malay population who saw some of their economic privileges removed. [ID:nKLR467124]
But a poll published on Wednesday showed Najib appeared to have gained traction for the government and that his reforms had won widespread approval. [ID:nSP434636]
Najib's personal popularity rating surged to 65 percent from 42 percent in mid-May, according to a poll from the independent Merdeka Center, and 60 percent of the 1,062 people questioned approved of the reforms.
"Quite clearly, a growing number of Malaysians like some of the policy initiatives of the PM and his inclusive message," said Ibrahim Suffian, head of the polling body.
