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It's not all fun and games at KL 98 

Anwar free to continue rallies: Dr M

By Ruth Wong 

P

RIME Minister Mahathir Mohamad said his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim has not been placed under house arrest and is free to continue his nightly rally at his private residence in Kuala Lumpur's affluent residential area, Bukit Damansara. 

"He is only arrested by his own followers who are surrounding him wherever he goes," Dr Mahathir said at a press conference after the appointment of Salomon Smith Barney as the government's financial adviser yesterday. 

He said Mr Anwar was free to continue with his nightly ceramah or lectures "This is a democratic country. If we stop, then the media, especially the foreign media, will then say we are repressive. So we have to put up with it. It's something that one has to submit to if one believes in democracy." 

Mr Anwar has been holding rousing speeches every night. The speeches, which start at 9pm, have drawn thousands to his home, causing severe traffic congestion and creating an almost festive atmosphere with temporary food and drink stalls set up along the roadside. 

Yesterday, Bernama news agency quoted Inspector-General of Police Rahim Noor as saying the police had received complaints from Mr Anwar's neighbours. He said the police were monitoring the situation and would act if the situation warranted it. 

Mr Anwar has repeatedly said he expects to be arrested and charged, possibly under the Internal Security Act or the Official Secrets Act. But Dr Mahathir would not say if an arrest was forthcoming: "The police are still investigating. I am quite sure that when they have sufficient evidence to charge him in court, they will charge him." Dr Mahathir said Mr Anwar was surrounding himself with thousands of supporters "so as to create problems" in the event of his arrest. "If anybody gets hurt, he will get full publicity, especially in the international press." 

Inspector Rahim yesterday told the press that police investigations on Mr Anwar's alleged sexual misconduct was in the final stages. 

"Many reports have been lodged pertaining to the case. Some reports on the investigations are nearing completion while others are in various stages of investigations. It depends on how fast we can gather evidence and interview witnesses." He added that after the police had gathered the prima facie evidence, investigation papers would be handed to the Deputy Public Prosecutor to decide whether to charge Mr Anwar. 

Dr Mahathir yesterday described the protests by Mr Anwar as a "little problem" that would not affect the perception of Malaysia as politically stable. "It is quite obvious that the people who are playing the stockmarket are fairly happy and behaving normally. So you can see it has not affected the sentiments in the market and I don't think there will be any long-term effects from this little problem that we have."