[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 294 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 294

  Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to developments in 
          Malaysia and the arrest of Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 9, 1998

Mr. Thomas (for himself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Smith of Oregon, Mr. Lieberman, 
 and Mr. Grams) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Foreign Relations

             October 21 (legislative day, October 2), 1998

             Committee discharged; considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to developments in 
          Malaysia and the arrest of Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Whereas on September 2, 1998, Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad 
        dismissed Deputy Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim;
Whereas, over the past year, Dato Seri Anwar has advocated adopting meaningful 
        economic structural reforms to combat an increasingly deteriorating 
        economy--a view which runs counter to those of Dr. Mahathir;
Whereas, after being dismissed, Dato Seri Anwar began touring the country and 
        publicly criticizing Dr. Mahathir and the policies of the ruling United 
        Malays National Organization Baru (UMNO) party;
Whereas in apparent reaction to this criticism Dato Seri Anwar was arrested on 
        September 20, 1998, and held under the provisions of the Malaysian 
        Internal Security Act (ISA);
Whereas the ISA removes arrested individuals from the protections afforded 
        criminal defendants under Malaysia's constitution and statutes, and 
        consequently Dato Seri Anwar was held in an undisclosed location without 
        any formal charges being lodged against him;
Whereas on September 29, 1998, Dato Seri Anwar was formally charged with nine 
        counts of corruption and sexual misconduct, including four sodomy 
        counts, to which another count was later added;
Whereas the vague nature of the charges, as well as the fact that two of the 
        government's ``witnesses'' have already recanted, could reasonably lead 
        to a conclusion that the charges were manufactured by the government for 
        maximum shock value to discredit Dato Seri Anwar and silence him;
Whereas, when Dato Seri Anwar appeared at his arraignment, he had been beaten by 
        police while in custody; and told the judge that on his first night of 
        detention, while handcuffed and blindfolded, that he was ``boxed very 
        hard on my head and lower jaw and left eye . . . I was then slapped very 
        hard, left and right, until blood came out from my nose and my lips 
        cracked. Because of this I could not walk or see properly'';
Whereas, to substantiate his claims, Dato Seri Anwar showed the court a large 
        bruise on his arm; his swollen black eye was evident to everyone in the 
        courtroom;
Whereas Dr. Mahathir suggested that Dato Seri Anwar inflicted the injuries to 
        himself in order to gain public sympathy;
Whereas since its independence Malaysia has been transformed from a divided 
        multiracial developing nation into a modern, cosmopolitan, economically 
        sophisticated country; and
Whereas the Government's actions in case of Dato Seri Anwar seriously damage the 
        reputation of Malaysia in the eyes of rest of the world: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) the Malaysian Government should take every step to safeguard the 
        rights of Dato Seri Anwar, ensure that any charges brought against him 
        are not spurious, afford him a fair and open trial, and fully 
        investigate and prosecute those responsible for his mistreatment while 
        in detention; and
            (2) all Malaysians should be permitted to express their political 
        views in a peaceful and orderly fashion without fear of arrest or 
        intimidation.
                                 <all>