Malaysia bears down on Anwar’s crusade

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad also accused Anwar of plotting an Indonesian-style uprising but he said there were no plans to declare a state-of-emergency.

Amidst mounting international concern, riot police and other forces surrounded the house in western Kuala Lumpur after setting up roadblocks and dispersing hundreds of supporters.

A senior officer warned any group of five or more people would be broken up as an illegal gathering.

Anwar was detained last Sunday after police stormed the house and has since been held under the Internal Security Act (ISA) which allows for virtually permanent detention without trial. Eleven associates have been detained since under the ISA.

Azizah said shewould speak at no more rallies following a warning from police about unrest. The 46-year-old mother of six also faces a police investigation over a television interview in which she expressed fears for the life of her husband.

Mahathir said there was no reason to implement special powers to cope with the crisis.

He said: “It is clear to me he was working up emotions in order to create a situation that was similar to Indonesia Where there were daily riots to obstruct normal life.”

“There is no state of emergency, of course, there are a few thousand people who follow him,” he told a news conference.

Reuters adds: Meanwhile, French finance minister Dominiquiue Strauss-Kahn sent a message of support today to Anwar Ibrahim saying a market economy, whatever its flaws, went hand-in-hand with political democracy and had to be grounded in the “free circulation of information and ideas”.

“That is not a great revelation but I just want to stress the point at a time when somebody I know andrespect, Ibrahim Anwar, has been arrested in his country for defending opinions which are not shared by doctor Mahathir,” Strauss-Kahn told a press conference.