What has USA got to do with what happen in Malaysia? Hasn't USA has enough of its own trouble?
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Comeback, Interrupted
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Of course, it's too soon to say for certain whether Anwar is really being framed and, if he is, who's doing the framing. But many Malaysians fear that the truth will never come out, since the government, the police and the courts were responsible for convicting Anwar the first time round and so can't be trusted to run an honest investigation now.
The U.S. government shares that concern. "The main point for us is that the rule of law needs to stand above politics," said State Department spokesman Tom Casey on June 30, following news of the latest allegation. A decade ago Anwar's much-publicized trial was deemed a "mockery" of justice by the then U.S. Vice President Al Gore, and many Malaysians have come to agree with his verdict. Thousands have already taken to the streets in Anwar's defense.
The question now is whether Anwar's loose coalition of opposition parties can hold together in the face of this onslaught. Since the election, the coalition has struggled to implement its campaign pledges, such as to curb corruption, improve human rights and kickstart Malaysia's economy, in the states it controls. Now UMNO is showing that it will not go quietly. With Anwar once again becoming the center of a very ugly controversy and the prospect of more unrest looming, he risks losing public support if voters come to associate him with the chaos. To prevent that, Anwar must try to deflect the accusation while focusing his energy on delivering what the opposition's promised. If he fails, the public could return to UMNO in droves, ending Malaysia's fledgling experiment in democracy before it ever really got going.
Gatsiounis is a Kuala Lumpur-based journalist and the author of “Beyond the Veneer,” a book on the events surrounding the pivotal March elections.
© 2008
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