[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 151 (Wednesday, October 21, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12944-S12945]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE WITH RESPECT TO MALAYSIA

  The resolution (S. Res. 294) expressing the sense of the Senate with 
respect to developments in Malaysia and the arrest of Dato Seri Anwar 
Ibrahim was considered and agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution (S. Res. 294), with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 294

       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;

[[Page S12945]]

       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.

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