| Home > South-East Asia >> Malaysia | |
Malaysian opposition leader forced to scratch Sydney visit
Sydney Morning Herald - November 1, 2013
The visit that included appearances at two forums and a debate on Islam had been organised for three weeks after Malaysian students in Australia were threatened not to attend an event where was speaking at the Festival of Ideas in Adelaide.
Tian Chua, vice-president of Mr Anwar's People's Justice Party, told Fairfax Media the trip had to be cancelled because Mr Anwar has been ordered to attend a hearing in Malaysia's Federal Court relating to an appeal against his acquittal on a sodomy charge.
Mr Tian said lawyers for Mr Anwar tried to have the court appearance changed to another date but judges insisted it go ahead on November 7, the day he was scheduled to be in Sydney.
Mr Tian said he could not say the court set the date to block Mr Anwar travelling to Australia.
But he said Mr Anwar had been acquitted of the charge in Malaysia's High Court on January 9 last year and the appeal is "part of a campaign of persecution to reduce his effectiveness to challenge the government". "Anwar is very disappointed he had to cancel the trip to Sydney," he said.
Mr Anwar received a standing ovation in Adelaide after appearing in conversation with ABC broadcaster Waleed Aly.
Earlier a student adviser at the Malaysian consulate in Sydney had warned that "stern action" would be taken against students on Malaysian scholarships who attended the event.
Mr Anwar later criticised the Abbott government for failing to speak out about the threats, which some students ignored.
William de Cruz, speaking for Bersih Sydney, a group that advocates clean and fair elections in Malaysia, said "we were fully expecting standing room only at two forums we had been working on, one specifically for Malaysian students and the other for the wider public". Mr Anwar was also scheduled to speak at a IQ2 debate that would have been broadcast nationally by the ABC.
See also:
 |