KUALA LUMPUR - Former Malaysian deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim
said Tuesday he will launch a lawsuit against one-time prime
minister Mahathir Mohamad for accusing him of being a
homosexual.
Mahathir said earlier this month that he was forced to sack Anwar
in 1998 to prevent mainly-Muslim Malaysia from having a homosexual
leader. Anwar was jailed for sodomy after his sacking but the
conviction was overturned last year.
"I cannot have a person who is like that in my cabinet who may
succeed and become the prime minister. Imagine having a gay prime
minister. Nobody would be safe," Mahathir told reporters.
Anwar said he was "shocked" to hear of Mahathir's "defamatory"
remarks, particularly after a court last month awarded him 1.2
million dollars in damages over a book that aired the sodomy
allegations.
"I will not allow this lie and slander to continue. Thus I have
instructed my counsel to initiative legal action against Tun
(honorific) Mahathir," he said in a statement.
"From the very beginning I have stressed that my sacking from the
government and UMNO (the ruling United Malays National Organisation
party) is executed as part of a high-level political conspiracy,"
he said.
Anwar said he had been vindicated by the High Court which found
that the author and publisher of the book "50 Reasons Why Anwar
Cannot Be PM" had conspired with unnamed "others" to destroy his
reputation and career.
"Despite this, Tun Mahathir continues his baseless accusations to
divert attention from his misguided policies that have harmed and
caused severe damage to Malaysia..." Anwar said, accusing Mahathir
of human rights abuses.
Anwar, who was once Mahathir's protege and heir apparent, was
jailed on sodomy and corruption charges in 1998 for allegedly
conducting a sexual relationship with his official driver, then
abusing his power to conceal it.
Human rights groups and Anwar himself maintained the charges were
trumped up to prevent him from challenging Mahathir, whose 22-year
rule as Malaysian leader ended when he retired in October
2003.
Anwar was released from jail in September last year after the
sodomy charges were overturned.
In another legal victory last month, Anwar also won an apology from
the former police chief who beat him after his arrest as well as
undisclosed damages, in a result he hailed as a step forward for
human rights in Malaysia. - AFP/ir