Official name	Sri Gading 四加亭
Other name	Seri Gading
Pushpin map	Malaysia
Pushpin mapsize	360
Coordinates display	inline,title
Coordinates region	MY
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision type1	State
Subdivision type2	City
Subdivision name	Malaysia
Subdivision name1	Johor
Subdivision name2	Batu Pahat
Seat type	Electorate
Seat	P.149 Sri Gading
Timezone	MST
Utc offset	+8
Timezone dst	Not observed
Latns	N
Coordinates	1°51′00″N102°55′00″N
Longew	E
Footnotes	}}

Sri Gading (also known as Seri Gading, Chinese:四加亭) is a town as well as parliamentary constituency in Johor, Malaysia, located in the district of Batu Pahat, along Jalan Kluang - Batu Pahat (route ). It lies south-east of Batu Pahat town, north-west of Ayer Hitam and west of Yong Peng.

Origin of name

The name Seri Gading means 'The Gorgeous Ivory' in Malay. The origin of this name can be traced back to the time when Sultan Ibrahim hunts an elephant at this place, and was impressed by the luster of the ivory.

However, it is not easy to spot elephants in Sri Gading today, even back since late 70's.

Location

It is about 13 km from Batu Pahat town, about 250 km from Kuala Lumpur and about 90 km from Johor Bahru.

Electorate

This is the list of Parliamentary constituencies (P.) followed by the state assemblies (N.) in Sri Gading, please see Parliamentary constituencies and state assemblies of Malaysia for updated information.

P.149 Sri Gading (inclusive of Tongkang Pechah)

N.21 Parit Yaani

N.22 Parit Raja

Economy

Sri Gading is famous for its local delicacies and textile industry, famous brand like Munchy's, Hup Seng and Hwa Tai has been a household name synonymous with quality biscuits manufacturing with many accumulated outstanding achievements.

Other local brand like Miaow Miaow Food Products Sdn Bhd, New Star Food Industries Sdn Bhd, PCCS, LY Furniture & Ramatex, multinational corporation like Fujitsu, Sharp Roxy & J.R. Courtenay are also the landmark to Sri Gading.

Attractions

Sri Gading does not have a lot of rivers and lakes, but there are more than 20 bridges across this small town. These bridges are not that grand, but they have been with this town since the very beginning, taking the heavy responsibility of linking up houses and business on both ends.

The new township named Pura Kencana that is developed by Genting Group. There are many facilities there such as restaurants, furniture shops, 7 eleven and even hotel named Harmoni Inn.

See also

Batu Pahat

External links

Official Portal of Johor State Government

Website of The Parliament of Malaysia

Neighbouring towns

Category:Populated places in Johor Category:Batu Pahat ms:Sri Gading zh:四加亭

honorific-prefix	Yang Berhormat Dato' Sri
name	Ong Tee Keat
birth date	November 22, 1956
birth place	Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, British Malaya
residence	Taman Midah, Cheras
office	8th Malaysian Chinese Association President
term start	18 October 2008
term end	28 March 2010
predecessor	Ong Ka Ting
successor	Chua Soi Lek
parliament2	Malaysian
constituency mp2	Pandan
term start2	21 March 2004
predecessor2	''New constituency''
office3	Malaysian Minister of Transport
term start3	18 March 2008
term end3	4 June 2010
predecessor3	Chan Kong Choy
successor3	Kong Cho Ha
religion	Buddhism
profession	Engineer
occupation	Politician
spouse	Chooi Yoke Chun (徐玉珍)
children	3 daughters
website
footnotes	}}

Dato' Sri Ong Tee Keat () is a Malaysian politician and current Member of Parliament for Pandan. He was the Transport Minister in the Malaysian federal cabinet from March 18, 2008 to June 4, 2010. He was the 8th president of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA).

Personal life

The son of a fishmonger, Ong was an active grassroots MCA member even while at varsity. Educated at Confucian High School in Kuala Lumpur, Ong went on to MBSKL for Form Six studies. Six years after graduating as a mechanical engineer, and while enjoying a lucrative post at an engineering firm, he quit to become political secretary to the then Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Lee Kim Sai in 1986.

Ong is married to Datin Seri Chooi Yoke Chun and has three daughters.

A gifted writer, Ong, who has won several literary awards for his works was once a columnist for Chinese daily Sin Chew Jit Poh. His articles ran from 1979 to 1986.

Political career

After becoming a full-time politician in 1989, he contested the Ampang Jaya parliamentary seat. He faced a tough challenge in his maiden effort to be a member of parliament when he was pitted against former Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Harun Idris who was standing on a Semangat 46 ticket. Ong beat the former Umno strongman by 4,500 votes. He went on to hold the seat for four terms before contesting and winning the newly created Pandan parliamentary seat in the 2004 general election. He successfully defended the seat in the 2008 general election.

When Ong was MCA Youth chief, he criticised the party top brass for the decision in 2002 to acquire Nanyang Press Holdings Bhd. A few years later, he was censured by the Cabinet for speaking out at the shoddy renovation work at a Chinese school in Muar, Johor.

Ong was previously Deputy Youth and Sports Minister until the Cabinet reshuffle in 2006, when he was appointed Deputy Higher Education Minister.

MCA presidency

In October 2008, Ong was elected MCA president, while Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek was elected deputy president. This set forth a tumultuous partnership, and eventually Dr Chua expelled from the party by the Disciplinary Committee for his involvement in a sex scandal.

An extraordinary general meeting of the MCA was held on October 10, 2009 in which a vote of no confidence was passed against Ong and his deputy, Chua Soi Lek. Ong Tee Keat refuses to resign. Instead, he and Chua have agreed to bury the hatchet to unite and strengthen the party without any conditions under a "greater unity" plan. He said Dato’ Sri Liow Tiong Lai still as legitimate deputy president of MCA as it is elected by the Central Committee. Dato'Sri Liow was later removed from the deputy president's post by the Registrar of Societies which declared that the post was never vacant to begin with.

Some Central Committees who were previously supporting Ong, led by Liow Tiong Lai, turned against Ong and attempted to demand for a re-election for the Central Committee. They were supported by MCA Youth Chief, Wee Ka Siong, and also the MCA Women Chief, Chew Mei Fun. Finally, these Central Committees, and also a few other CCs led by Chua Soi Lek, together resigned and forced a re-election, as they have achieved at least 2/3 majority of the CC, as per the party constitution.

Party Central Committee re-election

Ong Tee Keat contested in the re-election to defend his Presidency, against his former Deputy, Chua Soi Lek, and also his predecessor, Ong Ka Ting, who came back in popular demand. He did not appoint any partner to contest for the Deputy Presidency, unlike Chua who appointed Kong Cho Ha and Ong Ka Ting who appointed Liow Tiong Lai.

Ong Tee Keat and Ong Ka Ting were both defeated by Chua Soi Lek. However, Ong Tee Keat had never promised to resign as Transport Minister.

References

External links

Official website

Category:Government ministers of Malaysia Category:Malaysian engineers Category:Members of the Dewan Rakyat Category:Malaysian Chinese Association politicians Category:Living people Category:1956 births Category:Malaysian Buddhists

ms:Ong Tee Keat zh:翁诗杰

Coordinates	1°51′00″N102°55′00″N
Honorific-prefix	Yang Berhormat Dato' Seri
Name	Anwar Ibrahim
Honorific-suffix	MP
Office	Leader of the Opposition of Malaysia Leader of the People's Pact
Monarch	Mizan Zainal Abidin
Primeminister	Abdullah Ahmad BadawiNajib Tun Razak
Term start	28 August 2008
Predecessor	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Constituency mp2	Permatang Pauh
Parliament2	Malaysian
Term start2	28 August 2008
Predecessor2	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Majority2	15,671
Term start3	1982
Term end3	1999
Predecessor3	Zabidi Ali
Successor3	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Office5	Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
Order5	7th
Monarch5	Azlan Shah Tuanku Ja'afar
Primeminister5	Mahathir bin Mohamad
Term start5	1 December 1993
Term end5	2 September 1998
Predecessor5	Ghafar Baba
Successor5	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Birth date	August 10, 1947
Birth place	Cherok Tok Kun, Penang, Malayan Union
Party	PR – PKR (2006–present) BN – UMNO (1982–1998)
Spouse	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Children	Nurul Izzah AnwarEhsan AnwarNurul Nuha Anwar3 others
Religion	Islam
Profession	Politician
Alma mater	University of Malaya }}

Anwar bin Ibrahim (born 10 August 1947) is a Malaysian politician who served as Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998. Early in his career, Anwar was a close ally of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad but subsequently emerged as the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government.

In 1999, he was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption, and in 2000, to another nine years for sodomy. In 2004, the Federal Court reversed the second conviction and he was released. In July 2008, he was arrested over allegations he sodomised one of his male aides, and faces new sodomy charges in the Malaysian courts.

On 26 August 2008, Anwar won re-election in the Permatang Pauh by-election and returned to Parliament as leader of the Malaysian opposition. He has stated the need for liberalisation, including an independent judiciary and free media, to combat the endemic corruption that he considers pushes Malaysia close to failed state status.

Early career

From 1968 to 1971, as a student, Anwar was the president of a Muslim students organisation, Persatuan Kebangsaan Pelajar Islam Malaysia (PKPIM). Around the same time, he was also the president of Persatuan Bahasa Melayu Universiti Malaya (PBMUM). He was one of the protem committee of Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) or Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia which was founded in 1971. He was also elected President of the Malaysian Youth Council or Majlis Belia Malaysia (MBM). In 1974, Anwar was arrested during student protests against rural poverty and hunger. This came as a report surfaced stating that a family died from starvation in a village in Baling, in the state of Kedah, despite the fact that it never happened. He was imprisoned under the Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial, and spent 20 months in the Kamunting Detention Centre.

In 1968-1971, he was first groomed in the National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students (Persatuan Kebangsaan Pelajar Islam Malaysia, PKPIM) as the president of the Union. In 1982, Anwar, who was the founding leader and second president of a youth Islamic organisation called Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM), shocked his liberal supporters by joining the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), led by Mahathir bin Mohamad, who had become prime minister in 1981. He moved up the political ranks quickly: his first ministerial office was that of Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in 1983; after that, he headed the agriculture ministry in 1984 before becoming Minister of Education in 1986. By then, speculation was rife about Anwar's ascent to the Deputy Prime Minister's position as it was a commonly-occurring phenomenon in Malaysia for the Education Minister to assume the position of Deputy PM in the near future.

During his tenure as Education Minister, Anwar introduced numerous pro-Malay policies in the national school curriculum. One of the major changes that he did was to rename the national language from Bahasa Malaysia to Bahasa Melayu. Non-Malays criticized this move as it would cause the younger generation to be detached from the national language, since they would attribute it to being something that belongs to the Malays and not to Malaysians. In 1991 Anwar was appointed Minister of Finance. In 1993, he became Mahathir's Deputy Prime Minister after winning the Deputy Presidency of UMNO against Ghafar Baba. There is report on Anwar using large cash payments to win support. Anwar is alleged to have resorted to money politics to secure his position as deputy president of UMNO. Anwar's followers were witnessed by even foreign journalists handing out packets of money to acquire support of UMNO division leaders. These followers are said to be working under Anwar's instructions. Anwar was being groomed to succeed Mahathir as prime minister, and frequently alluded in public to his "son-father" relationship with Mahathir; in early 1997, Mahathir appointed Anwar to be acting Prime Minister while he took a two-month holiday.

Towards the end of the 1990s, however, the relationship with Mahathir had begun to deteriorate, triggered by their conflicting views on governance. In Mahathir's absence, Anwar had independently taken radical steps to improve the country's governing mechanisms which were in direct conflict with Mahathir's capitalist policies. Issues such as how Malaysia would respond to a financial crisis were often at the forefront of this conflict.

Anwar's frontal attack against what he described as the widespread culture of nepotism and cronyism within UMNO (and the ruling coalition as a whole) angered Mahathir, as did his attempts to dismantle the protectionist policies that Mahathir had set up. "Cronyism" was identified by Anwar as a major cause of corruption and misappropriation of funds in the country.

Teaching and non-profit work

Since his release from prison, Anwar has held teaching positions at St Antony's College, Oxford, where he was a visiting fellow and senior associate member, at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies in Washington DC as a Distinguished Senior Visiting Fellow, and in 2005-2006 as a visiting professor at the Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim–Christian Understanding in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, where he continues as a Senior Fellow. In March 2006 he was appointed as Honorary President of the London-based organization AccountAbility (Institute of Social and Ethical AccountAbility).

In July 2006, Anwar was elected Chair of the Washington-based Foundation For the Future. In this capacity, he signed the October 1, 2006 letter to Robin Cleveland of the World Bank, requesting the transfer of the secondment of Shaha Riza from the US Department of State to the Foundation for the Future. This transaction led to Paul Wolfowitz's resignation as president of the organization. He was one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You in 2007, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding.

Financial crisis

During the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis Anwar, as finance minister, supported the International Monetary Fund (IMF) plan for recovery. He also instituted an austerity package that cut government spending by 18%, cut ministerial salaries and deferred major projects. "Mega projects", despite being a cornerstone of Mahathir's development strategy, were greatly curtailed.

Although many Malaysian companies faced bankruptcy, Anwar declared: "There is no question of any bailout. The banks will be allowed to protect themselves and the government will not interfere." Anwar advocated a free-market approach to the crisis, including foreign investment and trade liberalisation. Mahathir blamed currency speculators like George Soros and supported currency controls and tighter regulation of foreign investment.

In 1998 ''Newsweek'' magazine named Anwar the "Asian of the Year". However, in that year, matters between Anwar and Mahathir came to a head around the time of the quadrennial UMNO General Assembly. The Youth wing of UMNO, headed by Anwar's associate Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, gave notice that it would initiate a debate on "cronyism and nepotism". The response was swift, as Mahathir issued lists of cronies who had benefited from government share allocations and privatisations. The list included Anwar and Zahid, along with several of Anwar's other allies. In the list, Anwar's father and his two brothers are shown to have received shares allocated by the government for the bumiputra. His father Datuk Ibrahim Abdul Rahman and his brothers, Farizan and Marzukhi, hold shares amounting to more than 7.1 million units in three companies. On 2 May 1998, Dato' Ibrahim Abdul Rahman owned 250,000 shares of Pengkalen Holdings Berhad and 3,790,500 of Nissan Industrial Oxygen Incorporated. Farizon owned 250,000 shares of Pengkalen Holdings Berhad. Marzukhi owned 2,800,000 shares in Penas Corporation. In the list, Ibrahim Abdul Rahman owned 2,000,000 shares in Industrial Oxygen Incorporated Bhd in 1993.

Political prospects

In November 2006, Anwar announced he planned to run for Parliament in 2008, after his disqualification expired. Anwar has been critical of government policies since his release from prison, most notably of the controversial New Economic Policy (NEP), which provides affirmative action for the Bumiputras. The policy sets a number of quotas, such as for units of housing and initial public offerings, that must be met.

He is also the Advisor of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, the party of which his wife Dr. Wan Azizah is president. He was in the forefront in organising a November 2007 mass rally, called the 2007 Bersih Rally, which took place in the Dataran Merdeka Kuala Lumpur to demand clean and fair elections. The gathering was organised by BERSIH, a coalition comprising political parties and civil society groups, and drew supporters from all over the country.

The 2008 election date, however, was set for 8 March 2008, sparking criticisms that Barisan Nasional called for early elections in a bid to deny Anwar's plans for a return to Parliament. In response, Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, declared that she would step down should she retain her Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat to force a by-election in which Anwar himself would contest.

When asked about the possibility of Anwar becoming the next Prime Minister, former leader Tun Dr. Mahathir reacted by saying rather sarcastically, "He would make a good Prime Minister of Israel".

On April 14, 2008, Anwar celebrated his official return to the political stage, as his ban from public office expired a decade after he was fired as Deputy Prime Minister. One of the main reasons the opposition seized a third of parliamentary seats and five states in the worst ever showing for the Barisan Nasional coalition that has ruled for half a century, was due to him leading at the helm. A gathering of more than 1,000 supporters greeted Anwar in a rally welcoming his return to politics. Police interrupted Anwar after he had addressed the rally for nearly two hours and called for him to stop the gathering since there was no legal permission for the rally.

On April 29, 2008, after 10 years of absence, he returned to the Parliament, albeit upon invitation as a spouse guest of Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, People's Justice Party and the first female opposition leader in Malaysian Parliament's history.

Permatang Pauh by-election

Anwar Ibrahim was victorious in the Permatang Pauh by-election held on August 26, 2008. Muhammad Muhammad Taib, information chief of the UMNO, stated: "Yes of course we have lost . . . we were the underdogs going into this race." Anwar won by a large majority against Arif Shah Omar Shah of the Barisan Nasional coalition, according to Election Commission officials. Reuters reported "Anwar Ibrahim has won with a majority of 16,210 votes"; according to news website Malaysiakini (http://www.malaysiakini.com), Anwar won 26,646 votes, while the government's Arif Omar won 10,436 votes. People's Justice Party spokeswoman Ginie Lim told the BBC: "We won already. We are far ahead."

Final results announced by the Election Commission revealed that Anwar Ibrahim won 31,195 of the estimated 47,000 votes cast in the district, while Arif Shah Omar Shah received 15,524 votes and a third candidate had 92 votes.

On August 28, 2008, Anwar, dressed in a dark blue traditional Malay outfit and black "songkok" hat, took the oath at the main chamber of Parliament house in Kuala Lumpur, as MP for Permatang Pauh at 10.03 a.m. before Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia. He formally declared Anwar the leader of the 3-party opposition alliance. With his daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar, also a parliamentarian, Anwar announced: "I'm glad to be back after a decade. The prime minister has lost the mandate of the country and the nation." At that time Anwar needed 30 government lawmakers to defect to the Opposition in order to form the next government.

Member of Parliament

Petition against Najib Razak

Anwar continued to attack Najib first day as prime minister, stating he found inconsistencies in the latter's decision to release 13 Internal Security Act detainees. He said as long as the ISA existed, Barisan Nasional could still detain citizens at will.

Struggle to assemble a majority coalition

Anwar has already missed several deadlines he himself set for the transfer of power, each of which came and went: the most recent was Tuesday 16 September 2008. Anwar said he would need more time, and the recalibration of his message has not gone unnoticed: Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak chose that day to initiate a broadband internet program Anwar opposes, saying that he had not doubted that the government would still be in office on 16 September. Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi too pointed out that Anwar had missed his own deadline, and dismissed his claim to have secured the defection of 30 MPs.

By 25 September Anwar had still not amassed enough votes, creating doubts for Malaysians about whether he was really ready to take power, particularly in light of his failure to meet his own 16 September deadline for the transition of power. In the interim, UMNO had its own party meeting to broker Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's step down from power in June 2009, a year earlier than previously promised

On 24 October 2008, Anwar admitted problems with his stalled bid to topple the UMNO's majority, saying that Pakatan Rakyat is running out of options to create a majority. His "credibility among ordinary Malaysians has been somewhat dented after Sept 16 and the new promise of forming the Government has not generated the sort of anticipation or excitement as before." Media within the country have taken an increasingly hostile view towards Anwar's protestations and failed threats to assemble a majority government.

On 30 March 2010, Anwar Ibrahim alleged in the Dewan Rakyat the 1Malaysia was mirrored after “One Israel” concept and designed by Mindteams Sdn Bhd, a branch in Malaysia of Apco Worldwide, an international public relations company engaged by the Malaysian government that also created the One Israel concept in 1999 for then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Barisan Nasional government has claimed it was false and its lawmakers have tabled a motion to censure Anwar for misleading the Parliament over his 1Malaysia-One Israel allegations which was passed by the Parliament on 22 April 2010.

Political Conspiracy

­­ At the UMNO General Assembly, a book, ''50 Dalil Kenapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Jadi PM'' ("50 Reasons Why Anwar Cannot Become Prime Minister") was circulated containing graphic allegations as well as accusations of corruption against Anwar. The book was written by Khalid Jafri, an ex-editor of the government-controlled newspaper ''Utusan Malaysia'' and former editor-in-chief of a failed magazine, ''Harian National''. Anwar obtained a court injunction to prevent further distribution of the book and filed a lawsuit against the author for defamation. Police charged the author of the book with malicious publishing of false news. Among the allegations in the book was that Anwar is homosexual. The police were instructed to investigate the veracity of the claims. In what the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' termed a "blatantly political fix-up", Anwar was charged with sodomy, convicted and given a 15-year prison sentence.

In 1999, Anwar brought suit against Prime Minister Mahathir for defamation for allegedly uttering accusations of immoral acts and calling Anwar a homosexual at a news conference in Malaysia.

This verdict was partially overturned in 2004, resulting in Anwar's release from prison. The original author of the book died in 2005 of complications from diabetes but not before the High Court found that he had committed libel and awarded Anwar millions of ringgit in compensation. The Federal Court on March 8, 2010 ruled that the 1998 dismissal of Anwar from his Cabinet posts by Mahathir was constitutional and valid, meaning Anwar had failed in his bid to challenge his sacking.

Release from prison

On September 2, 2004, a panel of three judges of the Federal Court (Malaysia's highest court) overturned the sodomy conviction by 2 to 1, finding contradictions in the prosecution's case.

Anwar completed his term for corruption after his sentence was being reduced for good behaviour. Although the point was by now moot, an appeal on the corruption charges was heard on September 6, 2004. Under Malaysian law a person is banned from political activities for five years after the end of his sentence. Success in this appeal would have allowed him to return to politics immediately. On September 7, the court agreed to hear Anwar's appeal. However, on September 15, the of Court of Appeal ruled unanimously that its previous decision to uphold a High Court ruling that found Anwar guilty was in order, relegating Anwar to the sidelines of Malaysian politics until April 14, 2008. The only way for Anwar to be freed from this stricture would have been for him to receive a pardon from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

New allegations of sodomy

­­ On June 29, 2008, online news portal Malaysiakini reported that an aide of Anwar Ibrahim had lodged a police report claiming that he had been sodomised by Anwar. The news has since been updated with reports that SMS messages are being distributed claiming that the person who made the report is Anwar's aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, who was arrested and allegedly forced to make a false confession. The same text message also claimed the possibility of Anwar being arrested. Anwar has said that the possibility of a prison sentence as a result of these allegations could be seen as an attempt to remove leadership and transference of power issues caused by his growing support and by-election victories. He also reaffirms his innocence and cites proof in the form of medical reports.

Hidden sex tape allegation

On 21 March 2011 a sex video appeared which claimed to feature Anwar Ibrahim. A day after that, Anwar Ibrahim declined his involvement in the incident and filed a police complaint. The police are currently conducting investigations against a trio of men dubbed the Datuk T trio, who screened the sex video in the first place. They are former Malacca chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik, businessman Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah and former Perkasa treasurer Datuk Shuaib Lazim.

Salahuddin Ayub vice president of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party ruled out suspending ties with Pakatan Rakyat stating that,"Everything is wrong about the whole scandal. The way the video was revealed was wrong and watching it is wrong. Islam does not accept this,". However the chief of PAS's Ulama council has stated that if the video is authentic they would consider reviewing ties with PKR. Lim Kit Siang, head of the Democratic Action Party stated that the Barisan Nasional reached "new depths in character assassination" and that the scandal was manufactured just in time for the Sarawak Elections. Chairman of UMNO's youth wing, Khairy Jamaluddin stated that the Barison National never said that it was Anwar in the video, and that it was odd that the opposition automatically took a defensive attitude. Barisan Nasional MP, Abdul Rahman Dahlan stated that the matter should remain personal, and not be used for political purposes. On April 4, part of the sex clip with a running time of nearly two minutes, was leaked online on anti-PKR blogsites and Youtube. A second part of the sex video was released on Youtube and a pro-UMNO blog website. The police and the government have been criticized for their slow response by the opposition in prosecuting the culprits who showed the sex video.

Remarks on Jews, APCO and 1Malaysia

Anwar has made numerous remarks about a supposed conspiracy among the Malaysian government, APCO (a public relations firm retained by the Malaysian government), Israel, and the United States. Anwar has condemned the Malaysian government for seeking advice from APCO. He claims that the firm is linked to the “murder of Muslims in Palestine.” He further claims to have given proof that APCO is a front for the Israeli government to a disciplinary committee of the Malaysian parliament investigating his comments. On another occasion, Anwar, speaking from the parliament, claimed that the firm was controlled by Jews and working on behalf of the American government to influence Malaysian foreign policy. He further implied that changes in Malaysian foreign policy could only be explained if Jews were manipulating Malaysia for the United States.

On 22 April 2010 Anwar was censured by Malaysia's parliament for remarks he made during a press conference in parliament on 30 March 2010. During the press conference, Anwar claimed to have documents linking 1Malaysia, One Israel, and the public relations firm APCO but refused to allow access to the documents when challenged The Malaysian government and APCO have both strongly denied Anwar's allegations. The censure motion passed by the House of Representatives referred Anwar's case to the Rights and Privileges Committee which will recommend a punishment for approval by the full chamber. Such punishment could include being banned from parliament. However Anwar retaliated against the Malaysian government attacks by producing the two documents to back up his statements and refute the government's denials of links between APCO and 1Malaysia.

In a press conference at the London School of Economics Anwar made comments about Zionists and "nasty Jews". In the press conference he also stated that, "There are good Jews, there are bad Jews, there are good Muslims and bad Muslims."

In May 2010, B'nai B'rith International, a prominent Jewish human rights organization condemned Anwar in a letter to the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, claiming that Anwar was a "purveyor of anti-Jewish hatred" and asked the American government to suspend all contact with Anwar.

In Malaysia, Anwar has often been mocked for having "Jewish friends." Najib's mentor and predecessor, Mahathir, even went so far as to say Anwar "would make a good prime minister for Israel." In return, Anwar seized Najib's hiring of APCO as a chance to issue inflammatory remarks on the firm's supposed ties to Israel.

Personal life

Anwar was born in Cherok Tok Kun, a village on the mainland side of the northern Malaysian state of Penang, to an Indian Muslim hospital porter, Ibrahim Abdul Rahman (later to join politics and retire as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health) and Che Yan, a housewife (and later UMNO politician). He undertook his secondary education at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar. He was educated at the University of Malaya, where he read Malay Studies.

He is married to Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and they have four daughters and a son. His eldest daughter, Nurul Izzah Anwar, is also a member of Parliament.

Publications and speeches

Articles "Radical Islam in Southeast Asia" (password required) ''Far Eastern Economic Review'', November 2006, 60th Anniversary Issue. Published in Arabic and in ''al-Bayane al-Youm'' (Morocco) on January 1, 2007.

"Accountability and the Future of Freedom" ''Islamica Magazine'', Issue #16, Winter 2006.

"Universal Values and Muslim Democracy" ''Journal of Democracy'', July 2005. Published in Arabic

"Political Accountability and the Moral Imperative" ''Accountability Forum'', Issue 7, Fall 2005

"On Shah Wali Allah's Socio-Political Thought and Ibn Hazm's Kitab al-Fasl fi al-Milal wa al-Ahwa' wa al-Nihal." In Islamic Studies, Vol. 43, No. 2, 371-377.

"The Quest for Social Justice" ''Global Agenda Magazine'', January 2005

Op-ed "A Test for the West in Turkey" ''Washington Post'', July 6, 2007, A15. Published in Arabic "Seeing the Bigger Picture" Accountability21 December 22, 2006. Published in Arabic

"Malaysian Mudslinging" ''Wall Street Journal'', October 3, 2006

"Cultivating the Seeds of Democracy" ''Los Angeles Times'', March 25, 2006

"Whither East Asia" ''Wall Street Journal'', December 15, 2005

"Destructive Engagement" ''Asian Wall Street Journal'', June 15, 2005

"Democratic Contagion Hits ASEAN Countries" ''New Perspectives Quarterly'', Spring 2005

"A passion for freedom" The World in 2004, ''The Economist''

"Who Hijacked Islam?" ''Time'' October 8, 2001

Speeches

"Anwar Ibrahim on Egypt and Tunisia" Asia Society, February 8, 2011, New York City

"The Central Role of Governance and Accountability in Achieving Development Goals in the 21st Century" Inter-American Development Bank Forum on the Americas, December 7, 2006, Washington DC.

“The Challenges of Islam and Democracy” University of Chicago, November 8, 2006.

"Democracy and the Muslim World" Stanford University, October 11, 2006.

"Democracy, Human Rights, and the Destiny of Southeast Asia" Severyns-Ravenholt Lecture at the University of Washington, October 10, 2006

"Islam & Democracy" Center for Democratic Institutions Annual Address, Canberra, Australia, July 20, 2006.

"Between Tyranny and Freedom: A Brief Voyage with the Bard" World Shakespeare Congress, Brisbane, Australia, July 19, 2006

"Accountability and the Future of Freedom" Presidential Fellows Lecture at the World Bank in Washington DC June 19, 2006

"Islam and Democracy" Keynote address at World Movement for Democracy Fourth Assembly, Istanbul, Turkey, April 2, 2006

"Freedom or Sharia" Columbia University, January 30, 2006

"The Future of Muslim Democracy" December 1, 2005

"Examining the Challenges of Islam and Democracy" Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, November 7, 2005

"The United States and the Muslim World" Asia Society Keynote Address delivered at SAIS in Washington DC, April 18, 2005

"Between Force and Persuasion" Keynote Address at Inaugural Session of the Conference "Inter-Civilisational Dialogue in a Globalising World", New Delhi, India, April 8, 2005

Anwar Ibrahim's speeches from 1990s posted at The Institute for Policy Research

UNESCO General Council On the occasion of Anwar Ibrahim's election to the presidency of the 25th Session, Paris, October 17, 1989

Media and news

Interviews

"Interview with Anwar Ibrahim" ''The Diplomat'', September 9, 2009

"A Talk with Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim" ''BusinessWeek'', April 10, 2007.

"Anwar’s ‘new’ agenda" ''The Star'', April 8, 2007.

"Malaysian Pledges to Defy Ban on His Return to Politics" ''Washington Post'', Page A14, April 5, 2007.

"Anwar Ibrahim: An Optimist of Freedom and Democracy" ''The Jakarta Post'', January 31, 2007.

"Islam and Democracy" A discussion with Saad el-Din Ibrahim" "One-on-One" hosted by Riz Khan, Al-Jazeera English, November 30, 2006

Bloomberg News Interview with Kathleen Hayes Bloomberg TV, November 29, 2006 "(Print article)"

"Saying no to corruption" ''Fortune Magazine'', October 23, 2006

"Anwar returns: the public reinvention of Malaysia's former deputy PM" Radio Free Australia, July 24, 2006

"Anwar bin Ibrahim's political rollercoaster" ''Worldview Magazine'', Summer 2006

"Islam in Southeast Asia" Interview by Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, April 7, 2006

Foreign Exchange interview hosted by Fareed Zakaria (Scroll to middle of page for transcript) November 4, 2005

Interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty From the "Forum 2000" Meeting in Prague, October 11, 2005

"HardTALK" with Stephen Sackur, 2005

Articles

"Democracy for Muslims?" ''The Stanford Daily'', October 12, 2006

"Anwar's return" ''The Economist'', August 24, 2006

"An ode to democracy delivered by Anwar Ibrahim" UQ News Online, July 27, 2006

"Anwar Ibrahim a possible candidate for UN Secretary-General" ABC News, July 19, 2006

"Anwar Ibrahim on comeback trail" Al-Jazeera English, March 16, 2006

"Voice of moderate Islam wins support" ''The Sunday Times'', October 2, 2005

"Anwar Ibrahim asked to apply for top UN job" ''Sydney Morning Herald'' June 28, 2006

"An Unlikely but Eager Voice Between Islam and the West" ''Washington Post'' September 2, 2005

Asean News Network 22 September 2004 Malaysia's Ruling Party Members Urged to Shun Anwar Ibrahim.

"Anwar Ibrahim free at last" Economist.com Global Agenda Magazine, September 7, 2004

"Anwar Ibrahim's long shadow" ''The Economist'', April 3, 2003

References

Other references

External links

Profile: Anwar Ibrahim

Interview with Anwar Ibrahim: "We Face a Deficit of Democracy in Malaysia"

Home pages

Anwar Ibrahim Home Page

Anwar Ibrahim Blog

Affiliations and appointments

Senior Fellow in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University,Washington D.C.

International Advisory Board, International Crisis Group

Honorary President, AccountAbility

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