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Anwar returns to parliament as guest
Ten years after being kicked out, Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ebrahim returned to parliament yesterday - but only as a spouse guest.
- AP
- Published: 00:14 April 30, 2008
Kuala Lumpur: Ten years after being kicked out, Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ebrahim returned to parliament yesterday - but only as a spouse guest.
"This is a new beginning. I have entered. I will never leave again," Anwar said after attending the formal opening of parliament, where he was once deputy prime minister and finance minister.
Opposition leader
Anwar was invited as the husband of Wan Azizah Wan Esmail, who won a seat for their People's Justice Party and is now the formal opposition leader in parliament.
Anwar said it won't be long before he is elected a lawmaker in a by-election.
He was ousted from government in 1998 by then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in a power struggle amid accusations of corruption and sodomy. Anwar denied the charges, which were widely believed to be trumped up.
The sodomy charge was later overturned but he served prison time after being convicted of corruption.
The corruption charge prevented him from holding public office until April 14, 2008, which meant he could not contest the March 8 general elections.
"Yes, 10 years is a long time but it is good to be back," he said after mingling with Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia's constitutional monarch, and other dignitaries including former colleagues, over tea. "They were polite. Just chitchat," Anwar said.
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