Malaysia’s ruling coalition faces a tough battle in a by-election to be contested by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, but the government is not threatened, the deputy prime minister said yesterday.
Anwar’s wife resigned on Thursday as lawmaker of the Permatang Pauh constituency in northern Malaysia to make way for her husband to contest the resulting by-election that must be held within 60 days.
“We leave it to the people of Permatang Pauh to decide,” Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak told reporters. “I think we have to be realistic. It’s going to be a tough constituency. But we have to do our best.”
The development comes amid political turmoil surrounding Anwar, the leader of a resurgent opposition who despite facing a sodomy accusation has vowed to bring down the government with parliamentary defections and take over as prime minister by Sept. 16.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Anwar is free to contest the by-election, but warned that he cannot use it to escape possible prosecution in the sodomy case.
“He cannot seek refuge,” Abdullah was quoted as saying by the national news agency, Bernama. “The authorities will enforce the law if there is a case against him.”
The Election Commission said it would announce a date for the by-election on Wednesday.
The government has a 30-seat majority in the 222-member parliament, but Anwar has said he is able to convince enough lawmakers to switch sides to bring down the coalition.
Najib dismissed Anwar’s threat.
“No, the government is not threatened. We have enough majority,” Najib said.
Anwar’s plans hit a snag in June when he was accused of sodomizing a young male aide. Anwar has dismissed the allegation as a political conspiracy. Police completed their investigation into the case on Thursday, and Anwar’s aides say he could be arrested as early as Monday. Sodomy, even between consenting adults, is punishable by up to 20 years in jail in Muslim-majority Malaysia.
It is the second time in a decade that Anwar has faced such an accusation. The first time was in 1998, when he was deputy prime minister and was locked in a power struggle with then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.
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