Mahathir has lost all support, Anwar says
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 (AFP) - Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has lost the support of his own people and international leaders, ousted deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim said in an outburst during a court recess Tuesday.
"The PM is getting too recalcitrant. Foreign leaders are not going to meet him," Anwar told reporters in a 15-minute adjournment called by the prosecution on the seventh day of his corruption trial.
"Unfortunately for Malaysia, he has to accept the fact that the Malaysian public has rejected him. Foreign leaders cannot tolerate him any more."
Anwar, 51, once Mahathir's annointed heir, broke off from speaking with his family during the adjournment to deliver his criticism to reporters.
He has denied 10 charges of corruption and sodomy, maintaining he is a victim of a political conspiracy to bring him down.
The trial is hearing the first four corruption charges alleging he used his influence to quash a police investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct made in a letter by the sister of his former private secretary.
Queues of people again formed outside the court early Tuesday as Malaysians, rights activists and diplomats waited to take their seats in the public gallery.
Mahathir sacked his former protege Anwar as deputy premier and finance minister on September 2, after the two fell out over economic policy to steer the country through the regional financial crisis.
The case has sparked international concern, especially after Anwar appeared in court sporting a black eye and bruises, alleging he had been beaten by police.
In a sign of protest, US President Bill Clinton and Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien have both refused to meet with Mahathir for traditional bilateral talks on the sidelines of next week's 18-nation APEC summit here.
However, Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi is scheduled to hold talks with the Malaysian leader during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
Tuesday's hearings continued with the testimony of senior police officer Abdul Aziz Hussein, who led the squad investigating the charges of sexual misconduct first made against Anwar last year.
He is the second prosecution witness to take the stand out of 52, including Mahathir, which the prosecution has given notice that it may call.
There is growing anticipation that star witness Ummi Hafilda Ali, who made the original allegations against Anwar in a letter, will soon take the stand.
Ummi, who has been following proceedings from the public gallery, accused Anwar of having a homosexual relationship with his former driver, and of having an affair with her sister-in-law, the wife of his former private secretary.
In an interview with Time magazine published Monday, Anwar accused Mahathir of being "drunk with power" and having lost his sanity.
"In his desperate attempt to cling to power, he has no qualms about using all instruments of government, the police and the judiciary to serve his ends," Anwar said in handwritten notes smuggled out of jail.
"My perception of his leadership is that he is drunk with power, and has lost all sense of rationality and sanity," he said.
The trial is due to be adjourned on Saturday, three days ahead of the APEC summit.
Anwar could face a total of 170 years in jail if found guilty on all 10 charges. But Malaysian courts normally order sentences to run concurrently, which would leave him facing a maximum 20-year term.