III

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. RES. 294

Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to developments in Malaysia

and the arrest of Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 9, 1998

Mr. THOMAS (for himself, Mr. KERRY, Mr. SMITH of Oregon, Mr.

LIEBERMAN, and Mr. GRAMS) submitted the following resolution; which

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

OCTOBER 21 (legislative day, OCTOBER 2), 1998

Committee discharged; considered and agreed to

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to developments in Malaysia and the arrest of Dato Seri Anwar

Ibrahim.

Whereas on September 2, 1998, Malaysia’s Prime Minister

Mahathir Mohamad dismissed Deputy Prime Minister

Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim;

Whereas, over the past year, Dato Seri Anwar has advocated

adopting meaningful economic structural reforms to combat an increasingly deteriorating economy—a view which

runs counter to those of Dr. Mahathir;

Whereas, after being dismissed, Dato Seri Anwar began touring the country and publicly criticizing Dr. Mahathir and
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SRES 294 ATS

the policies of the ruling United Malays National Organization Baru (UMNO) party;

Whereas in apparent reaction to this criticism Dato Seri

Anwar was arrested on September 20, 1998, and held

under the provisions of the Malaysian Internal Security

Act (ISA);

Whereas the ISA removes arrested individuals from the protections afforded criminal defendants under Malaysia’s

constitution and statutes, and consequently Dato Seri

Anwar was held in an undisclosed location without any

formal charges being lodged against him;

Whereas on September 29, 1998, Dato Seri Anwar was formally charged with nine counts of corruption and sexual

misconduct, including four sodomy counts, to which another count was later added;

Whereas the vague nature of the charges, as well as the fact

that two of the government’s ‘‘witnesses’’ have already

recanted, could reasonably lead to a conclusion that the

charges were manufactured by the government for maximum shock value to discredit Dato Seri Anwar and silence him;

Whereas, when Dato Seri Anwar appeared at his arraignment, he had been beaten by police while in custody; and

told the judge that on his first night of detention, while

handcuffed and blindfolded, that he was ‘‘boxed very

hard on my head and lower jaw and left eye . . . I was

then slapped very hard, left and right, until blood came

out from my nose and my lips cracked. Because of this

I could not walk or see properly’’;
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Whereas, to substantiate his claims, Dato Seri Anwar showed

the court a large bruise on his arm; his swollen black eye

was evident to everyone in the courtroom;

Whereas Dr. Mahathir suggested that Dato Seri Anwar inflicted the injuries to himself in order to gain public sympathy;

Whereas since its independence Malaysia has been transformed from a divided multiracial developing nation into

a modern, cosmopolitan, economically sophisticated country; and

Whereas the Government’s actions in case of Dato Seri

Anwar seriously damage the reputation of Malaysia in

the eyes of rest of the world: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that—

(1) the Malaysian Government should take every

step to safeguard the rights of Dato Seri Anwar, ensure

that any charges brought against him are not spurious,

afford him a fair and open trial, and fully investigate

and prosecute those responsible for his mistreatment

while in detention; and

(2) all Malaysians should be permitted to express

their political views in a peaceful and orderly fashion

without fear of arrest or intimidation.

Æ