July 1, 2008
KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has taken Washington to task for warning Kuala Lumpur that it would oppose any move to use judicial or law enforcement procedures to end Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s political career.
Abdullah said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim will call the US ambassador to Malaysia to protest the US interference.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak also weighed into the issue, saying “It’s not politically motivated, this has never been politically motivated at all, never crossed our mind. Washington better get their facts right.”
The US became the first country today to comment publicly on the fresh allegations of sodomy against Anwar. Washington strongly opposed the sacking and jailing of Anwar in 1998, arguing that he was a victim of trumped up charges.
Tom Casey, the US State Department’s spokesman, said: “The main point for us is that the rule of law needs to stand above politics. And we would certainly oppose any use of law enforcement or judicial procedures for anything other than legitimate purposes of the law.”
He said the authorities must ensure that everything done in relation to the investigation be rooted in the rule of law. Noting that Anwar has been charged and cleared of sodomy, Casey said: “We would hope that there’s not a pattern here.
“We would be concerned that anything that is done be done in a way that is appropriate, that is a legitimate investigation or charges that might exist under Malaysian law, and would not be anything that was a politically-motivated investigation or prosecution.”
Anwar has been accused by an aide of sodomising him at a condominium on June 26 but he denied the accusation, claiming he is a victim of conspiracy to stop the Pakatan Rakyat from coming to power.