Chronology of the Case Against Anwar Ibrahim

November, 1998

Background

A power struggle between Prime Minister Mahathir and his deputy, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, had been building for several years since the later defeated the then Deputy Prime Minister, Tun Ghafar Baba for the post of Deputy President of UMNO in 1992, but it intensified as the economic crisis worsened.

Anwar increasingly took a pro-free market approach sympathetic to foreign investment and trade liberalization as he was also the IMF Asia Pacific Chairman, while Mahathir advocated currency controls and blamed the West and Western currency speculators in particular for his country's economic plight.

By mid-year, borrowing the reform slogans from neighbouring Indonesia, Anwar's supporters within the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party were making corruption and nepotism major political issues, with Mahathir and his associates the unstated target. One of Anwar's strong supporter, Zahid Hamidi, an UMNO Youth Movement leader, raised the nepotism and cronyism issues againt Mahathir in UMNO General Assembly in 1997 to the surprise of the delegates. (In later year, Hamidi admitted that his speech text was prepared by Anwar himself).

In May 1998, 50 Dalil Kenapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Jadi PM (50 Reasons Why Anwar Cannot Become Prime Minister), a book containing graphic sexual allegations as well as accusations of corruption against Anwar, was published in Kuala Lumpur.

In early June 1998, the book was circulated at the annual meeting of UMNO. Days later, Anwar obtained a court injunction to prevent further distribution of the book, but strangely Anwar did not file a defamation complaint against the author.

In July, a visit by the Indonesian opposition leader Amien Rais led to more pointed comparisons of Malaysia and Indonesia. Pro-Anwar accused Mahathir of tolerating cronyism, and the international financial press and the IMF demanded greater transparency in government and UMNO-managed enterprises.

In August, police charged the author of the 50 Reasons book with malicious publishing of false news and the book was banned for distribution and circulation by the High Court

Key events in the still unfolding crisis are as follows:

July 14, 1998:
Johan Jaaffar, editor-in-chief of Utusan Malaysia (Anwar nominated man at Utusan), an UMNO-owned newspaper, was asked to resign after political pressure from UMNO leadership. "Whoever replaces Johan should understand the struggle of UMNO--to serve the members of the party," a spokesman for the publisher said. "We cannot have someone with his own agenda."
Another editor, Ahmad Nazri Abdullah (also an Anwar man), was asked to resign from Berita Harian four days later.

August 12, 1998:
Businessman K.S. Nallakruppan, a tennis partner of Anwar and Chairman/Managing Director of Magnum Corporations ( a private company which runs Four Digits lottery in Malaysia), is arrested on a charge of unlawful possession of live ammunition. He is charged under Section 57(1)(b) of the ISA which carries a mandatory death sentence if convicted.

Affidavits later filed at the High Court also accused Nallakaruppan of arranging some of Anwar's sexual liaisons and suggested that because they traveled together abroad, Nallakruppan may have had access to official secrets.

September 2, 1998:
Anwar sacked as deputy prime minister and finance minister by Mahathir.

September 3, 1998:
Anwar expelled from UMNO at the meeting to discuss the sexual accusations against him. Anwar did not deny nor admitted to the sexual accusations against him, but instead accused Mahathir for putting him off the Malaysia political arena.

September 14, 1998:
Mohamad Ahmad, Anwar's former private secretary, is arrested under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code in connection with police investigations into the book, 50 Reasons. He is later unconditionally released on September 23.

September 16,1998:
Mohamed Azmin Ali, another of Anwar's former private secretaries, is remanded to prison to "facilitate investigations" into the book, 50 Reasons. He said he had been questioned seven times about the contents of the book, particularly regarding the allegation that his wife on several occasions had sex with Anwar, and his (Ali) youngest daughter is Anwar's. He was also given a DNA test in July and said police were trying to force him to be retested as Anwar declined to take a DNA test and since the results of the first had shown the girl was his and his wife. He was released unconditionally on September 22.

September 18,1998:
Anwar supporters hold a political rally at the stadium in Kota Bharu; police had rejected a permit for the rally and say organizers will be charged under the Police Act. They say applications for permits must be made two weeks before a public gathering. Police seize more than 500 cassettes of Anwar speeches, on the grounds that the content may be seditious.

September 19, 1998:
Two close Anwar associates, his former speechwriter, Munawar Anees, 51, and Anwar's adopted brother, Sukma Dermawan, are sentenced to six months in prison after pleading guilty to engaging in "unnatural sex" and allowing Anwar to sodomize them. After completion of his prison sentence, Anees went back to homeland and never return. Sukma was also sentence to 6 years jail term after he was found guilty in sodomising Azizan after Anwar had sodomised Azizan.

September 20, 1998:
Anwar is arrested at his home by police, after some 35,000 of his supporters (muslim and non Muslims) damaged public and private properties whilst marching to National Mosque and PM's residence to demand the prime minister's resignation. Also arrested following the demonstration were six others including several officers of the Malaysia Islamic Youth Organization (Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia or ABIM), a NGO which was led by Anwar before he joined UMNO. All are detained under Section 73(1) of the ISA.

September 26, 1998:
A demonstration of more than 3,000 Anwar supporters in Merdeka Square, Kuala Lumpur, is broken up by police, and 29 demonstrators are held for questioning under the Police Act.

September 29, 1998:
Anwar appears for the first time in public to be formally charged on five counts each of corruption and "unnatural sex."He has a black eye and a bruised right hand and accuses his captors of beating him on the night of his arrest until he was bloody and half-conscious. (Former Inspector General of Malaysian Police, Rahim Noor later admitted in the separate High Court that Anwar called him Bapak Anjing (father of the dogs) and Anjing (dogs) to his surbodinates made him lost his cool. Rahim later was sentenced for two years jail term)

The charges involve:-

(i) engaging in carnal intercourse with five people at different times and places between December 1993 and April 1998;

(ii) interfering with an Anti-Corruption Agency investigation into the activities of his private secretary;

and (iii) trying to interfere with police interrogation of witnesses to his alleged sodomy.

September 30, 1998:
UMNO Youth head Zahid Hamidi is released unconditionally, together with four ABIM leaders. Zahid resigns as UMNO youth chief the next day, but remains as UMNO member.

October 5, 1998:
Kuala Lumpur High Court places gag order on public discussion of Anwar case

October 14, 1998:
Anwar released from ISA detention after 24 days but remanded to Sungai Buloh prison after his application for bail was rejected on the grounds that there was "a danger of witnesses being tampered with as the charges involved interference with witnesses." ("Anwar released from ISA detention," New Straits Times, October 15, 1998) Four people arrested on September 20 in connection with the Anwar case remain in detention under the ISA: they are Zulkifi Nordin, a lawyer, who was arrested on September 29; Ruslan Kassim, a lawyer and UMNO youth chief for the state of Negeri Sembilan; Abdul Malek Hussein, former executive secretary of the opposition party, PAS; and Haji Shaari Sungit, president of Jemaah Islah Malaysia, who was arrested on October 12. Fourteen others were released.

October 17, 1998:
police break up a rally of thousands in support Anwar in central Kuala Lumpur; 140 are detained, of whom 128 were eventually charged on October 21 with taking part in an illegal assembly under Section 27 of the 1967 Police Act. All but one pleaded not guilty; they were released on bail of RM1,000 each.

October 21, 1998:
Home Ministry warns vendors and bookstores to stop selling Harakah, the Malay-language newspaper published by the opposition party, PAS, as its publication permit did not allow it to be sold to non-PAS members. It was also publishing distorted and sensational news, the ministry said.

October 24, 1998:
police break up another rally of thousands at Merdeka Square, using pepper spray and water cannons. The rally turns violent, and over 278 people are arrested.

October 26, 1998:
Shaari Sungit released unconditionally from ISA detention.

October 27, 1998:
Zulkifli Nordin released unconditionally from ISA detention.

October 28, 1998:
Sukma Darmawan files habeas corpus petition claiming his conviction and sentencing were unlawful, because as a Muslim, he should have been tried in a Muslim court (the Syariah Subordinate Court). (Note: Under Muslim Syariah High Court law, a person accused of sodomy only can be convicted if not less 4 persons witnessed the sodomy act or the accuse himself admitted) The Kuala Lumpur High Court, meanwhile, dismisses a habeas corpus petition for the release of Anwar Ibrahim.