IV
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. RES. 658
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to Dato
Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 27, 2000
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. LANTOS, Mr.
ROHRABACHER, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, and Mr. WEXLER) sub-
mitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
International Relations
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with
respect to Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Whereas on September 2, 1998, Malaysia’s Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohammed dismissed Deputy Prime Minister
Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim;
Whereas, reportedly as a result of political disagreements,
Dato Seri Anwar was arrested on September 20, 1998;
Whereas when Dato Seri Anwar appeared at his arraignment,
he told the judge of the severe mistreatment he sustained
on his first night of detention;
Whereas Dr. Mahathir suggested that Dato Seri Anwar in-
flicted the injuries on himself in order to gain public sym-
pathy;
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Whereas on September 29, 1998, Dato Seri Anwar was for-
mally charged with nine counts of corruption and sexual
misconduct, including four sodomy counts, to which an-
other count was later added;
Whereas the vague nature of the charges, as well as the fact
that several of the Government’s witnesses recanted, cast
serious doubt on the validity of the charges, which appear
to have been fabricated to discredit Dato Seri Anwar;
Whereas on April 19, 1999, Dato Seri Anwar was convicted
on four counts of corruption and sentenced to six years
of imprisonment;
Whereas on August 8, 2000, Dato Seri Anwar was convicted
of sodomy and sentenced to an additional nine years in
prison;
Whereas both trials were marred by serious irregularities,
including—
(1) the refusal of the trial judge to allow represent-
atives of news media to be present when testimony favor-
able to the defense was being given,
(2) the imposition by the judge of a national ‘‘gag
order’’ prohibiting any Malaysian citizen from discussing
the guilt or innocence of Dato Seri Anwar,
(3) the changing by the prosecution of the dates on
which the alleged incidents of sodomy were said to have
occurred, after learning that the building where the inci-
dents allegedly happened had not yet been built and
again after learning that Dato Seri Anwar was not in
the country on the revised date, and
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(4) the admission by the trial judge of a ‘‘vol-
untary’’ confession from a witness who had reportedly
suffered severe physical and psychological abuse at the
hands of the police before giving his confession;
Whereas the Governments of Australia, New Zealand, the
United Kingdom, and other nations, as well as the Euro-
pean Union, have condemned the Malaysian Govern-
ment’s actions in this case;
Whereas international organizations, including Amnesty
International and Human Rights Watch consider Dato
Seri Anwar to be a prisoner of conscience;
Whereas the United States Department of State Human
Rights Report of 2000 highlights the irregularities sur-
rounding Dato Seri Anwar’s trial and the continued dete-
rioration of the judiciary in Malaysia;
Whereas the imprisonment of Dato Seri Anwar represents a
breakdown in democracy and the rule of law in Malaysia;
and
Whereas the Government’s actions in the case of Dato Seri
Anwar represent a breakdown in democracy and the rule
of law in Malaysia, and thus damage the international
reputation of the Malaysian Government, and have the
potential to harm relations between the Government of
the United States and the Government of Malaysia: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that—
(1) the Government of Malaysia should provide
Dato Seri Anwar with due process of law either by
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offering him a new trial under fair and transparent
procedures or by dismissing all charges against him;
and
(2) all Malaysians should be allowed to exercise
their fundamental right to peaceful expression of po-
litical opinion, without fear of arrest or intimidation,
and should be afforded due process of law in all
cases.
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