Dr M says it again: Gay PM not acceptable
Sep 9, 05 4:32pm
A homosexual cannot be allowed to run the country, reiterated former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad when asked on the sacking of his ex-deputy Anwar Ibrahim seven years ago. I cannot have a sodomiser in my cabinet. Imagine a gay PM ... nobody will be safe! he told reporters after his speech at the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Mahathir said since the society here was against sodomy, he had acted accordingly.
He also denied that Anwars sacking on Sept 2, 1998 came about because the two of them had a fallout.
He claimed that these allegations
were trumped up by the media - especially gay journalists - who were championing the former deputy premiers cause.
"Among some media people even, they are gay. They don't like my taking action against a person for the kind of things that they indulge in. So I became a bad guy because of that," he said.
Mahathir also denied he used the Internal Security Act (ISA) against Anwar and dismissed this as another fictitious claim purported by the gay media people. He added that he allowed the judiciary to arbitrate on his former right-hand-mans breach of law.
Anwar, who was initially found guilty of sodomy, had his conviction overturned by the Federal Court last year following an appeal.
He had previously served a prison sentence for a corruption conviction. The former deputy premier has always claimed to be a victim of political conspiracy
and that the charges were trumped-up.
Damned if I did, damned if I dont
In his speech earlier, Mahathir cited Anwars case and said that he was always in a lose-lose situation when having to choose whether or not to use the ISA.
Not detaining a person without trial would not help either. And so when a former DPM (deputy prime minister) was charged in court, defended by nine lawyers and found guilty through due process, all that was said was there was a conspiracy.
So youre damned if you use the ISA and you are dammed if you dont use the ISA, he told the audience.
However, despite Mahathir's denials, Anwar was indeed held under the ISA for nine days following his sacking before being produced in court.
At the press conference, Mahathir was also quizzed on why he had not taken action against then-Inspector General of Police (IGP) Rahim Noor for assaulting Anwar.
Because I didnt know then that he (Rahim) did it. I only knew later. He was a senior officer and there was no evidence against him (then), he replied. When Anwar was brought to court on Sept 29, 1998, he appeared with a black eye and a bruised right hand. He claimed that Rahim had repeatedly punched him.
Anwar subsequently initiated legal proceedings against the former IGP and on Aug 3 this year, received a public apology from Rahim for the assault. The out-of-court settlement resulted in Anwar withdrawing the assault
suit.
In addition, the High Court last month ordered author Khalid Jafri to pay Anwar RM4.5 million for making a series of allegations, which included accusations of sodomy, made in his book '50 Dalil mengapa Anwar tak boleh jadi PM' (50 Reasons Why Anwar Cannot be PM). The book, published in early 1998, had sparked the downfall of Anwar.
Meanwhile, Mahathir was also bombarded with numerous questions related to his stand on human rights as his presence at the Suhakam function was criticised by many - especially human rights activists and civil groups.
Earlier during his speech, a number of foreign envoys, including British High Commissioner Bruce Elliot Cleghorn, walked out after they were irked by Mahathirs accusations that the Americans and British were hypocritical in
their call for human rights.
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