Anwar Ibrahim: Malaysia

Deputy Prime Minister Of Malaysia Dept: Anwar Ibrahim is an unusual man in two respects. One is that the former deputy prime minister of Malaysia is probably the only senior politician in the world to have been charged with sodomy which is a crime in Malaysia . Not only that: he was charged with sodomy twice, in trials 10 years apart and the charges were dismissed both times. The last time was Jan. 9, according to Winnipeg Free Press. The reason that the National Front coalition has ruled Malaysia ever since independence in 1957, even though Malaysia is a democracy where you would expect an occasional change of government, is fear. Many Malaysians of all ethnic groups fear that the National Front is the only thing that keeps the lid on the bubbling pot of ethnic resentments and malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim speaks during a press conference at his party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur at the beginning of the month. LAI SENG SIN / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The other unusual thing about Anwar is that he has managed to build a real opposition alliance in Malaysia, which may well end the ruling party s half-century grip on power in the forthcoming elections. As you might expect, these two facts are not entirely unrelated. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.