Anwar says Malaysia government to fall by Tuesday

The Associated Press

Published: September 10, 2008

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said Wednesday he will topple Malaysia's government by early next week despite a trip abroad by ruling coalition lawmakers that he claims is aimed at thwarting his plans.
The three-party opposition alliance can seize power if at least 30 members of Parliament defect from the National Front coalition, and Anwar said he would fly overseas if necessary to meet with lawmakers he hopes to lure to his side.
He has vowed for several months to take power by Sept. 16.
About 50 National Front lawmakers left for a farming study tour in Taiwan earlier this week amid opposition accusations that coalition leaders had sent them there to keep them away from Anwar and to dissuade some of them from defecting.
Anwar claims to have made tacit pacts with dozens of lawmakers in recent months, and insisted that he was still "very much" on track for his target date of next Tuesday.


"We're working on it," Anwar told reporters. "There are technical problems because (the lawmakers) have been shipped away. ... God-willing, it will (still) happen. If need be, I will fly to Taipei."
The government has denied the tour is politically motivated.
Anwar, who is battling a charge that he sodomized his 23-year-old former male aide, made the comments after a Sessions Court delayed a preliminary hearing for his sodomy trial.
Government prosecutors said Wednesday they wanted to transfer the case to a higher court because it had attracted widespread interest, including from international observers.
Anwar's lawyers objected, saying the current judge was sufficiently qualified. The court will hear formal arguments from both sides Sept. 24 before making a decision.
Anwar is charged with allegedly sodomizing Saiful Bukhari Azlan — the second such accusation in a decade for the former deputy premier, who was ousted in 1998 amid charges that he sodomized his family driver. A court overturned that sodomy conviction in 2004.
Anwar reiterated Wednesday the latest charge was "treacherous and malicious," and accused the prosecution of having "no intention to proceed except with the instructions from their political masters." The government has denied any conspiracy against Anwar.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has pledged to foil Anwar's attempt to unseat the National Front, which has governed Malaysia for 51 years but suffered its worst electoral result ever in March national polls.
The National Front won 140 seats in the 222-member Parliament, losing its two-thirds majority for the first time since 1969.
Anwar won a by-election last month that enabled him to re-enter Parliament and to become prime minister if his alliance takes power.

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MUHYIDDIN SAID IN SINGAPORE

Malaysia PM should step down earlier - minister
Wed Sep 10, 2008 12:58pm IST

Malaysia PM should step down earlier - minister

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should consider passing the baton to his deputy before 2010 to give the ruling coalition time to prepare for the next elections, a member of his Cabinet said on Wednesday. ...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should consider passing the baton to his deputy before 2010 to give the ruling coalition time to prepare for the next elections, a member of his Cabinet said on Wednesday.
"I have said it myself that 2010 is too long," International Trade and Industry Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in response to a question from a reporter on the sidelines of a Forbes conference in Singapore.
"PM may have to rethink whether the deadline is tenable."
Prime Minister Abdullah promised to hand power over to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2010 after Malaysia's opposition won an unprecedented 82 seats in the 222-member Parliament during general elections in March.
Muhyiddin is a vice president in the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the dominant party in Malaysia's Barisan Nasional government, which has led the country since Independence in 1957. He said the current arrangement created uncertainty and may hinder the party's preparations for the next elections due by 2013.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim had said he is seeking to win over 30 defectors from the ruling coalition to form a new government by his self-imposed deadline of Sept 16, but has since said he is flexible about the date.
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

ANWAR SET TO TOPPLING MALAYSIA GOVERMENT

Anwar set on toppling Malaysia government(09-10 14:42)

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said he will topple Malaysia's government by early next week despite a trip abroad by ruling coalition lawmakers that he claims is aimed at thwarting his plans.The three-party opposition alliance can seize power if at least 30 members of Parliament defect from the National Front coalition, and Anwar said he would fly overseas if necessary to meet with lawmakers he hopes to lure to his side.He has vowed for several months to take power by September 16.About 50 National Front lawmakers left for a study tour in Taiwan earlier this week. ASSOCIATED PRESS

ANWAR ON TRACK TO WIN POWER

Anwar 'on track to win power'

Mr Anwar says he will oust the prime minister through MP "defections"
Malaysia's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has said his plans to topple the National Front ruling coalition by next week remain 'on track'.

He made the comments emerged from a court room where government prosecutors argued his trial on sodomy charges should be moved to the High Court.
Mr Anwar's lawyers described such a move as an unnecessary delaying tactic.
The court said it would hear formal arguments for and against the move on 24 September.
Mr Anwar had promised he had enough support to depose the government by 16 September, despite the charges against him.
In the meantime, however, about 50 members of the government have been sent on a farming study tour to Taiwan - a move derided by Mr Anwar's supporters as a tactic intended to thwart his plans.

On Track

But Mr Anwar remained defiant, saying he would fly to Taiwan if necessary, to garner legislators' support.
He leads a three-party opposition alliance, which made huge gains at the ballot box in March. The National Front won just 140 seats in the 222-member parliament, losing its two-thirds majority for the first time.
Mr Anwar has said he needs to persuade 30 government lawmakers to his side to bring down the government and that he had tacit agreements from enough members of parliament to do so.
"We're working on it," Anwar told reporters. "There are technical problems because (the lawmakers) have been shipped away. ... God-willing, it will (still) happen. If need be, I will fly to Taipei."

Court moves

The court hearing on Wednesday appeared to help his plans, reporters said, by leaving Mr Anwar on bail for at least another two weeks.
Government prosecutors argued that the case alleging sodomy by Mr Anwar should be moved to the High Court because it had attracted such a high degree of public interest.
The application to move the case was led by Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, who Mr Anwar is already suing with regard to his earlier - and overturned - conviction for sodomy.
Mr Anwar's supporters expressed fears that moving the case to the High Court could make the case more vulnerable to manipulation by the government.
The Sessions Court decided to delay a decision, until 24 September, allowing both sides to prepare formal arguments by then.

Security was tight outside the courtroom on Wednesday, with riot police prepared for large protests if Mr Anwar had been imprisoned.