France Sends Message of Support to Malaysia's Anwar 

PARIS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Dominqiue Strauss-Kahn sent a message of support on Tuesday to Malaysian former finance minister Annwar Ibrahim, who was arrested on Sunday after being sacked by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. 

France's Socialist finance minister said a market economy, whatever its flaws, went hand-in-hand with political democracy and had to be grounded in the "free circulation of information and ideas." 

"That is not a great revelation but I just want to stress the point at a time when somebody I know and respect, Ibrahim Anwar, has been arrested in his country for defending opinions which are not shared by Doctor Mahathir," Strauss-Kahn told a press conference. 

"I want to express in your presence my friendship towards him." Anwar's wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said on Monday that the sacked finance minister's movement to oust the prime minister would carry on despite her husband's arrest under Malaysia's Internal Security Act. 

The Internal Security Act empowers police to arrest anyone suspected of acting "in a manner which is prejudicial to the security of Malaysia" and to hold them for 60 days before a minister signs a detention order which can last for up to two years and be renewed indefinitely. 

Anwar's arrest has been condemned by opposition parties and human rights groups and is also starting to generate criticism from abroad. 

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said on Monday that, even if it was primarily a matter for Malaysians to resolve, he was worried about "a drift towards an authoritarian approach" in the country. 

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